Here we are again. I promised to check in every Saturday with a brief update on my progress with the Ten in 10 Healthy Challenge. This will be my seventh update and we only have three more to go. If I reach my goal weight When I hit my goal, I'm treating myself to a new swimsuit, so that's one thing that's really keeping me motivated.

The past week was a bit like a roller coaster. After only being home from Texas for two days, we had a gorgeous three day weekend which included an all day Brunch on Sunday with Bloody Marys and Mimosas.

Luckily, I can resist cinnamon rolls, donuts, and croissants, but my weakness lies with the pigs in a blanket and the Mexican Crustless Quiche that I brought which had an entire pound of bacon in it. 🙂

Once Monday rolled around, it became a continuation of the all day Sunday party. Luckily, I got in a long walk early in the morning because we ended up having a lot of friends off work so we all got together again for salami, cheese, crackers, and more Bloody Marys.

(Needless to say, I didn't keep up  on my food log this week. Starting that again tomorrow.)

By the time Tuesday arrived, I was ready to get back into the gym. Tuesday and Wednesday I did some major cardio workouts and included weight training on Tuesday. On Friday, I was in my ‘kick butt' yoga class. I feel like a new person when I leave that class!

Long, story short, with all my indulgences, I did manage to lose a pound this week, so I'm happy! Next week is probably going to be a critical week for me. I'm guessing that these last four pounds are going to be pretty hard to blast off of my fanny. I'm going to have to crank it up a notch this week.

As for today, I'm going to enjoy “my weekend rules”. 🙂

~LilSis

Posted under Health

This week's update is going to be short and sweet because I'm in Texas visiting my family and I'm trying to make the most of my time with them.  Just a quick update:

I wasn't able to weigh in yesterday but I feel like I've maintained my weight or maybe lost a little this week. We have already had Mexican Food twice and are meeting up with friends today for lunch at another favorite Mexican restaurant but I'm trying to make better choices for my entree and just cut back on the chip eating. I had already decided that I was going to allow myself a treat, or two, while here as long as I could keep up the daily workouts.

I've had a great time exercising this week. First, I visited the Y with BigT and convinced him to ride an Espresso bike next to me so we could chat. Then one day BigSis took me to her health club as a guest and we got in a great cardio workout on several new machines.

I'd have to say, though, that the most fun I had working out this week was yesterday when we all took turns doing different exercises on BigSis' WiiFit Plus.

I've never been crazy about video games because I don't like sitting still for very long, but the WiiFit really does make exercising a lot of fun! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. 🙂

We already have the WiiFit at my house but I'm going to order the WiiFit Plus as soon as I can! These new exercises will make you laugh and get your heart pumping!

I hope everyone had a great week and have a fun-filled Super Bowl Weekend!

~LilSis

Posted under Health

Drew Brees Family at Super Bowl

Happy Monday-after-Super-Bowl, everyone!  LilSis is still in Big D, and without Big T's influence, we wouldn't have watched the Super Bowl at all.  We were watching “Death at a Funeral” during the game, so we recorded it.  Our plan was to forward through the plays to just watch the commercials, but it became clear that the Saints had showed up!  We ended up watching most of the 4th quarter, and were actually more impressed with the game than with the commercials!

So congratulations to the New Orleans Saints this morning!  It's always fun to see the underdog prevail, and it's especially nice to see New Orleans get a much-needed boost!

Photo credit: Getty Images

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

The day that changed my life?  It was 8 to 10 years ago.  I can't remember exactly when I first heard about the Chi ceramic flat iron, but I do recall that it cost me $140 at my salon (they were sold only through salons at that point).   I'd NEVER paid that much money for any hair tool, and haven't paid that much since then.  But that first Chi lasted me up until 2 weeks ago with zero problems.  So was it worth it?  Oh yeah!  To go from big curly frizzy poofy Texas hair to smooth silky straight hair for only about a dollar a month?  No question!

After having such great results and endurance from my old Chi, I of course wanted to replace him with the same model.  Dance with the one that brought ya, right?  I got the new Chi home, unwrapped him, and prepared to enjoy his smoothing hotness for the first time.  Damn!  This guy couldn't fill the shoes of my old Chi!  What the heck!!  He wasn't hot and smooth!  He was draggy and warmish and pulled my hair!

Back to the store he went!  Still, I was loyal to my old Chi and got another exact replica of him.  Surely, I couldn't be disappointed two times in a row.  Wrong!  Again, it felt like Mr. Chi wasn't getting hot enough, but he did seem to be frying my hair and pulling the ends.  Back to the store we went for the third time.

I'm loyal, but I'm no fool.  Something has changed in Chi-land since I bought my first one many years ago.  It was time to switch teams, and that's what I did.  The next applicant to be my new flat iron friend was the T3 Tourmaline.  Tourmaline is a precious crystal that is embedded within the ceramic plates somehow, and it is supposed to use negative ions to lock moisture in the hair, and to lessen the damage inflicted on the hair. It did cost me an extra $20, but I was willing to give it a try.  I can't live without a flat iron, and the Chi wasn't an option any longer.  As we say in Texas, he'd done split his britches!

Pink T3 Tourmaline Flat Iron

Did the T3 live up to the claims it made?  Yes yes yes!  I love this flat iron!  I've been using it for almost a week, and it honestly is very noticable to me that it is gentler on my hair.  It seems easier to get the ends to curve under, plus it's much lighter weight than the Chi and the temperature is adjustable.  And did I mention that IT'S PINK??!!  I love this iron.  When your current iron poops out on you, this is the ONE to try!

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Have you seen the new “The Dress Issue No. 2” catalog from White House Black Market?

Not only are there some beautiful little black dresses in this catalog, but there are some precious little black and white kitties, too.  I'm not sure what cats have to do with selling black dresses, but this catalog has a little kitty on almost every page.

I do love White House Black Market, though.  Their clothes fit me better than almost any other brand, so when I need something special it is usually the first place I go.  The last little black dress that I bought for a formal event, I bought at White House Black Market.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the catalog. You can see all the new little black dresses on White House Black Market.

Piped Leather Button Heel $88.00

I love these shoes but the kitty is even cuter! Look at her pretty little necklace.

Satin Full-Skirt Dress 158.00

They must have given this little guy a treat to help him sit still. He's still licking his chops.

Not that there's anything wrong with it, and I am a “cat lover”, but if you're all dressed up in a little black dress, are you really going to pick up a big, white, furry kitty?

Satin Rosette Dress $168.00

She has a smile on her face, but this kitty looks like he's about done with the photo shoot!

~LilSis

Posted under Shopping

The New Basics Cookbook has been on my shelf for a long time, but I don't think I've ever made anything from it, until I heard last week that one of its' authors, Sheila Lukins, had passed away after battling cancer for only 3 months.  I decided it was time to put the cookbook into use by baking something from it in Sheila's memory.

I've been on a lemon blueberry kick lately, hence the two batches of Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, so I gravitated toward Sheila's Lemon Blueberry Bread.  It's described as a classic tea bread, but I would describe it as more of a cake or coffeecake.  I would also say that it's delicious!  It's so good that after I ate two slices, it became clear to me that it had to go in the freezer if I didn't want the whole thing to end up in my mouth and then on my butt.

This bread is chock-full of blueberries and has a nice subtle lemon flavor in the background.  The topping tastes like cinnamon toast to me; don't leave it off!  It makes the bread really special, I think.  I only made once change, since I don't buy milk and didn't have any almond milk in the house.  Instead of 1/2 cup milk, I used 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup water, and it seemed to work fine.

Thanks for the recipes, Sheila.  This one's for you.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Lemon Blueberry Bread
(The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins)

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9×5 loaf pan (I used pan spray with flour included).

Stir topping ingredients together in small bowl until smooth and set aside.

In medium size bowl, combine sugar, milk, butter and egg until smooth.

In another bowl, toss flour with baking powder and salt. Stir this into wet ingredients; then gently fold in blueberries and lemon zest.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with topping. Bake 50 minutes, until topping is deep golden and has formed a thick crust. Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to wire rack for cooling.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

~BigSis

Posted under Food

It's here already…back to school! Where did the summer go? Regardless of where it went or how fast it flew by, the time is here to get our act together for the fall. For lots of folks, that means getting your dorm room set up and organized or perhaps you've already moved into your own student house after visiting a website like http://www.aplusstudenthousing.com. Either way, your gonna have a lot of decorating to do! Thankfully, there are lots of resources available to help! Since time for online ordering may be running short for some of you, we're focusing on retailers with “real” stores as well as web sites.

Bed Bath & Beyond has a “Shop for College” section online. It includes a super-helpful checklist for equipping the space, and a College Practical Solutions section with solutions to common problems, like too little clothing storage or too little light. There is even a Decorating Ideas feature.

How about this Grover Beach theme for a young guy?

Grover Beach

Ok, well, maybe it is a little over the top and packed with stuff, but you don't have to buy all of it. All of the items pictured in the example are listed below the photos of it, with prices and the option to add them to your shopping cart as you see fit. You can always add more from other places as well, and adjust it to your style. I've seen some people add things like these lights from Neon Mama to make the room even brighter. Pretty cool!

For a young woman, I think their Juliet room is a little wild and fun!

Juliet

Target Paisley Comforter

Not to be outdone, Target has a whole line of stylish dorm room decor items, including bedding, bath items, furniture and accessories. I'm crazy about this brown and blue paisley comforter ($14.99) and can see a whole room built around it very easily.

Target also has some pages put together to help you. You can click on the Contemporary Total Dorm, for example, and see photos and prices of everything they think you will need. I'm not sure if the 32″ Vizeo HDTV they show is essential or not, but maybe it is for some students! You can also view their suggested items for the Classic Total Dorm, The Trendy Total Dorm, the Dorm Lounge and different girls' and guys' dorms styles. Lots of fun stuff.

JC Penney also has their own Dorm Life section with useful resources: a checklist, tips on finding your own style, living in a small space, and doing what you need to do on a small budget. They have lots of affordable options for furnishing and decor. Although, before you buy anything it might be worth checking of there are any rules about what you can and can't have in your dorm. For example, I've seen some really cool wall decals being advertised but I'm sure many colleges are not keen on students decorating their walls. However, there are still loads of other options at JC Penney. I love that their seating section is comprised of one faux fur butterfly chair and ten bean bag chairs! It doesn't get any more dorm-ish than that!

We hope we've given you have a few ideas for decor to get you started. We'll be back all this week with more back-to-school info, including some organizing tips!

~BigSis

Posted under Family

As long as we're talking about potatoes and St. Patrick's Day, I decided to do one more Irish recipe before the holiday.  I'm making the Ham and Potato Pancakes that I just discussed in my St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas post a few days ago. This comes from a little cookbook called Irish Food, Fun, and Crafts.

And, yes, I too am entering my recipe into the Potato Ho Down being hosted this month by Evil Chef Mom.

To participate in this fun event hosted the third Wednesday of each month, each entry must have a Potato Ho name. Since this is my first time to submit an entry, I'm making a big deal about announcing my Potato Ho name!

Drum roll, please… My Potato Ho name is Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay. (And no, I didn't just pull that out of a hat. There is a method to the madness.) You can read all the rules about this monthly blogging event on Potato Ho Down or on Noble Pig.

Now, for Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay's recipe.

Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay Ham and Potato Pancakes

3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, grated, and squeezed dry (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, green parts only
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham (4 -5 ounces)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 -3 T. vegetable oil

First, combine grated potatoes, green onions, and eggs in large bowl, mix well.  Add ham, flour, salt, and pepper; mix well.

Heat 2 T. oil in large heavy bottomed skillet. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls and press with back of spoon to flatten. Cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove to paper towels to drain. Add remaining 1 T. of oil, if necessary, to cook remaining batter. Serve pancakes warm.

This is an easy recipe and the pancakes turned out really nice. It's a great little appetizer to serve at your St. Patrick's Day Party. And, my family loved them for breakfast. I made SirHoney one the size of the skillet!

Don't forget to check Evil Chef Mom's site on Wednesday, March 18th for the complete March Potato Ho Down Roundup!

~LilSis

Posted under Food

Last Friday was our friend and coworker MoJo JoJo's last day with us.  She moved back to her hometown to start her official awesome job as a CPA with a Master's degree.  You rock, MoJo JoJo!  You worked hard for that and you deserve an incredible career!

So, for her last (sad) day with us on the job, I made Tyler Florence's Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars.  I've mentioned before that I need very little excuse to bake…full moon, Tuesday, whatever. When a friend leaves, you can bet I'm going to bake.  I've been wanting to try this recipe ever since I saw Tyler make it on his Tyler's Ultimate show on Food Network a long time ago.  These little dudes looked incredible, and have always stuck in my head.

My expectations were not too high.  These came out fabulous!  I loved them, and they disappeared pretty darn fast from the office.  So fast, in fact, that I didn't get a chance to photograph them and had to make another batch over the weekend.  Oh, darn!

You can go to the Food Network site for Tyler's recipe for these scrumptious Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, but let me give you my notes.  A few people mentioned in the reviews that they thought the lemon flavor was too tart, or their bars didn't set up well, or that the crust didn't stay together.  After making these twice, I've discovered the solutions to all of these little issues.  These are the changes I recommend:

• The recipe calls for 9 graham crackers.  I used 1-1/2 cups of crumbs and it was perfect.

• Use 1/4 tsp of cinnamon instead of 1/8 tsp in the crust.

• Use an extra 2 Tblsp of butter in the crust (6 Tblsp).

• Use 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice in the filling.  The recipe calls for the juice of 2 lemons, which we know can vary wildly.  The first time I made these, the juice of 2 small lemons yielded 1/4 cup.  That produced the perfect texture in the filling, and the blueberries didn't bleed into it at all.  The bars also cut beautifully.  The second time, I had medium size lemons so I used the juice of 3 halves, measuring about 1/3 cup.  Although I really liked the bit of extra lemon tang, the bars were a bit less firm, and the berries did bleed into the cheesecake somewhat.  The bars also cut a little less pretty.  All of the photos here are from the second batch, so you can see what I'm talking about.  So, 1/4 cup juice is the key!  And do use fresh juice for these!

• Even if you use less juice, still use the zest of 2 lemons.  It's a real flavor booster and complements the blueberries beautifully.

• Make sure your berries are completely dry after washing them.

• I had a hard time telling when the bars were done, so I just stuck to the 35 minute baking time and they were on the money.

This is a SUPER easy recipe and I just adore it!  It's going into my permanent file, and I'll be making it regularly.  It's creamy and rich and luscious, but also fruity and tangy.  It's a winner!  I'm entering it into this week's Tyler Florence Fridays, so check it out.  They post a roundup each Friday of all the Tyler recipes submitted for the week, and one recipe gets to be on Tyler's blog.  Fun, huh?

Next time, I'm going to sprinkle a few raspberries in with the blueberries.  Try this one!  You'll lurve it!  (We miss you, MoJo JoJo!)

~BigSis

Posted under Food

One of my favorite spots for Sunday Brunch used to be Charlie's by the Sea.  It was one of the most beautiful spots right on the sandy beach in Cardiff. We used to go there quite often. We would let HayHay surf right out in front where we could watch him while we leisurely enjoyed our brunch on the patio. And, we always took our out of town guests there. Unfortunately, they closed their doors last year. I haven't found another spot like it since.

One of my favorite things to order from their Brunch menu was their Garden Omelet. I was really craving one this past Sunday, so I decided to make one for myself. Since the guys were golfing,  I actually got to make something for just me, myself, and I!

I must admit that it turned out pretty darn good. It was very similar to the one that they used to serve at Charlie's by the Sea, except I think I used more veggies!

Since I used three eggs, I cut the omelet in half and hid the other half in the fridge for my breakfast the next day. (At my house, if you want to guarantee that your leftovers are still around the next day, you have to hide them.)

Here's what the yummy inside looked like as I dug into it.

The quantities of  the ingredients in this omelet are approximate. You could add more or less of any of these ingredients or substitute any one of them for your own favorite veggie! (That's why I'm better at cooking than I am at baking. I really do NOT enjoy having to measure every ingredient and I have no clue when you can and can't substitute in baking.)

Garden Omelet

1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. asparagus, cut into pieces
1/2 c. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. fresh spinach, torn into pieces
1/4 c. petite diced tomatoes
3 large eggs, beaten (I put a dash of Frank's Red Hot in the eggs)
1/4 c. shredded cheese (I used Sargentos 4 Cheese Mexican)
salt and pepper, to taste
a few snips of chives
Frank's Red Hot, to taste

I start off my omelet like a frittata because I like my veggies all mixed into the eggs, not just tucked inside the omelet. Begin by sauteing the asparagus tips and the mushrooms in the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until the asparagus softens a little. Then toss in the spinach until it wilts. Next, add the tomatoes and stir just until blended in with other veggies. Now, pour the eggs over all the veggies. Cook until the egg sets well enough to flip the omelet. Once flipped, I sprinkle on the cheese and fold over. Sometimes, I might flip it again, if I want to brown both sides a little.  Slide onto a plate, add a dash of salt, pepper, a few snips of chives and top off with some Frank's Red Hot, to taste.

I hope you enjoy this omelet recipe or your own version of it.  I change mine up almost every time I make one. I think I enjoy making them so much because they are quick, easy, and can be pretty healthy as long as you don't load them up with massive quantities of bacon and cheese. (which I also love, by the way.)

I'm also entering this recipe in the BlOg yOur Omelete event.

You can read more about this fun blog event here on Spanish Recipes. Nuria from Spanish Recipes will be accepting omelet recipes until May 15th so it's not too late to get your recipe entered! The full roundup will be published on May 18th.

~LilSis

Posted under Food