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So, you want more Cats In Hats, Big Sis? Here's a

Happy New Year Wish from TomTom!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"I SO SHY!"

~LilSis

Posted under Holidays

Have you heard about these new mixes for fat-free brownies called No Pudge?  All you add is non-fat vanilla yogurt. Since I fessed up to being a bake-from-scratch snob, but then had a raving disaster with my homemade cherry pie, I figure I'm obligated to humble myself and try some mixes.  I've heard that these brownies are good, but I'm so skeptical!  A brownie with no butter?  And it's supposed to be worth eating?  I say prove it!

I bought a box of the original flavor of No Pudge at Central Market for $4.59.  They also have mint, raspberry and cappuccino varieties but I wanted to start off with the basic chocolate.  The nutritional label says each brownie has 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 22 grams of sugar (!).

The No Pudge brownies couldn't be easier to make.  You add 2/3 cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt to the mix, which includes sugar, flour, cocoa, egg whites, cornstarch, wheat gluten, salt and baking soda.  You mix the yogurt in thoroughly and smooth it into an 8″ square pan.  The instructions say to bake for 30 to 35 minutes, but I only had a 9″ pan, so I baked for closer to 25 minutes.

After chilling overnight, I took these to work for an informal taste test and these are the results:

• Everyone agreed that the flavor was very chocolaty, and two people thought you couldn't tell the difference between these and a full-fat brownie. I could tell!

• The consistency was very fudgy and pretty gooey.  I wonder if I underbaked these, and if they would be less gooey with more baking time, although they tested done and I hate to overbake brownies.  I'd rather slightly underbake than overbake.

• My opinion was that the texture was a tad spongy and gooey at the same time.  I also thought the first note on my tongue was sugar, which makes sense since non-fat baked goods usually compensate with extra sugar.  I could totally tell that something was amiss with these little guys, although the chocolate fix was there.

Would I bake these again?  Nah.  I'd rather have half of a Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownie than several of these.  It was a fun experiment, but that's just how I roll.  I have to say that I like that there aren't a bunch of artificial ingredients and sweeteners in these brownies, but I'm not really into non-fat versions of real food.  Perfect examples are the grossness of non-fat mayo and non-fat cheese.  Blecch.

I can see these “brownies” being served at a baby shower or spa party hosted by one of the “ladies who lunch” in Dallas.  I imagine they'd be cut into 1/2″ squares.  Give me a regular brownie, even if it means more time on the treadmill!

Oh, and P.S.  My camera is on the critical list, so these craptastic photos may be the last you see from it!  I took well over 100 photos to even get a couple that were usable.  If you love your camera, please send me your recommendation of any models I should look at!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Colour Craft Collection Look

I really don't know many people that could pull this ‘Look' off without ending up looking like a clown, but when you go to the MAC website, you can see what it actually looks like on their model. It must have been a very creative makeup artist that came up with this idea.  The ‘Look' is showcasing some of their summer Colour Craft Collection, which has some awesome new shadow and lip colors.  I'm sure there are more subtle ways that you can wear these same colors!

While I was on their site, I discovered their adorable new Summer Trend Bags! I love animal prints and I've never had an animal print make-up bag so I might have to buy myself a little treat.  And guess what? MAC happens to be offering free standard shipping right now! Score!

To make sure you don't miss out on this offer, you have to make your purchases online by 11:59 p.m. EST on July 24th!  There is no minimum purchase and no offer code required.

And if you have a hard time waiting days to receive your order, like I do, you can upgrade to 2nd Day Shipping for $5.00 or Overnight Shipping for $10.00!

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Here’s a quick alert for the MAC fans out there.  I just got an email for FREE SHIPPING today and tomorrow only.  This offer ends January 19.  Use promo code 2DAY.  There is another promotion currently running for free shipping with any $60 purchase; it doesn’t require a code.

If you’ve been eying the new MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead Collection but haven’t made it to the mall yet, here’s your chance to grab some of those limited edition products with free shipping.

MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead Collection

Get shopping, girls!

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

New Year's Eve will be here within a matter of hours, and you may be thinking about what to serve your hungry crowd.  Plain chips? Mixed nuts? Chex Mix?  How about something as easy as those options but tastier?

Salty...savory...slightly spicy...delicious!

I work with G, whose husband C is a great cook.  His family has a recipe for a snack mix they call “IT”. IT is really simple, but IT is so delicious that you can't stop eating IT!  Fortunately, IT makes a HUGE batch!  You can see that you have lots of leeway in the amounts of dry ingredients to use.  Just use what you like and IT will turn out great!  Don't leave the curry powder out though.  I don't usually like curry, but the small amount of it in this recipe gives it a great subtle flavor.  There's something about the combination of the curry, fresh garlic and butter with the salty ingredients that's just yummy!  Thanks for this recipe, G and C!

IT rocks!

IT

Mix together in large roasting pan:
2 bags Fritos
1 box CheezIts
Pecans
Walnuts
Sliced Almonds
Popped Popcorn

Mix in saucepan:
1 tsp curry powder
3 dashes Tabasco
1 Tblsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
2 sticks melted butter

Pour heated mixture over dry ingredients and toss to coat evenly.  Cook in slow oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.  Dump into brown paper bag to drain.  Store in tightly sealed container when cool.

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Where in the fudge have I been?  I hadn't heard a peep about this award-winning documentary called “The Cove” until last week, even though it won the Sundance Film Festival and a bunch of other awards, nor did I know anything about the atrocities revealed in the movie.  Since it's not my style to stick my head in the sand, I went to see the “The Cove” last night, although I knew it would be emotional.

Now I know a bunch of things that are horrifying and haunting me…things that I wish were not true.  To say that I am outraged and disgusted is an understatement.

Here is what I learned:

• There is a tiny fishing village in Japan called Taiji.  Every year from September to March, dolphins migrate through this area, and the “fishermen” of Taiji herd them into a cove, using the dolphins' sensitivity to sound against them.

• In this cove, the prime dolphins – usually young females – are selected to be sold for up to $150,000 each.  Taiji is the world's largest supplier of dolphins to water parks like Sea World.  A live dolphin show can bring $1 million per year to the attraction, so there is continuous demand from these parks for dolphins.

• The dolphins who are not chosen for sale are slaughtered by these “fishermen” who stab at them repeatedly from boats with long harpoon-like poles, until the cove is literally filled with blood.  Then the dead dolphins are fished out of the water with hooks and hauled off to be cut up.

• Taiji is alone responsible for the annual slaughter of 23,000 dolphins.

• The *meat* from these dolphins is then sold, often being passed off as whale meat. The acceptable level of mercury for human consumption is .4 ppm (parts per million), however, because dolphins are so high up the food chain, their tissues can contain 2000 ppm.  The risk of mercury poisoning is therefore very high for any one who eats dolphin.

• Until “The Cove” team broke this story, the dolphin meat masquerading as whale meat was being given to schools for free, so the contamination was being delivered directly to Japan's school children.  It is still sold as whale meat to unsuspecting consumers.

• One dead dolphin may bring $600, but the “fishermen” say they are slaughtering the dolphins for pest control, more than for the money, because dolphins eat so much fish that the supply of fish is diminishing at alarming rates.  They apply this same ridiculous rationale to whales.  Never mind the fact that humans deplete the seas of fish to the extent that some people think the oceans will be void of any fish within 40 years at the current fishing rate.

• Half of the dolphins in captivity only live 2 years.  They suffer from depression, which is understandable since in the ocean they swim 40 miles a day.  They also suffer from ulcers, to the extent that the water parks stock Tagamet and Maalox to treat them.

• Dolphins can commit suicide.  They choose to deliberately breathe when they are out of the water, unlike humans who breathe automatically without ever giving it a thought.  So they can choose NOT to breathe.

Now that I know about all this, I can't forget that I know it and I want you to know it too.  Here's the trailer for “The Cove“.

What you first need to know is that Ric O'Barry trained the dolphins for “Flipper” in the 60s.  He had an epiphany after one of the dolphin stars of the show – Cathy – died in his arms.  He says that she was so depressed that she chose to stop breathing and die, rather than continue her so-called life in captivity.

Since then, Ric has spent 35 years trying to end dolphin abuses and captivity.  In the documentary, at great risk to his personal safety, he sets out to reveal the atrocities that are being committed in Taiji.  He and an incredible team plan to film what happens in the cove, since it is highly protected, for reasons you will see.  They succeed, and we see the actual footage of the slaughter.

So now that we have seen this footage with our own eyes, and it has been brought out of the dark veil of secrecy into the light, what are we going to do about it?  It has to stop.  WE have to stop it.  Here's what you can do:

• Go see “The Cove” and encourage others to see it.  Check thecovemovie.com for viewing locations in your area.

• Stop patronizing parks that feature live dolphin shows.  They aren't having fun, and they aren't smiling!

• Support the filmmaker – Ocean Conservation Society – with your financial donations.

• If you must eat fish, find out which fish has the safest levels of mercury.

• Contact our leaders and help get the word out in Japan.  This link will allow you to sign a petition letter online and share the opportunity with other people who care.  It couldn't be easier.

• Donate to SaveJapanDolphins.

• Learn more about dolphins in captivity.

• Tell everyone you know about the cove and what happens there.  There are people just like me who had no clue about this, and who need to know.

I'll leave you with one personal experience.  When LilSis and her family and I went to Maui in 2000, the highlight of the trip for me was the snorkeling day trip we took to Kauai.  As our boat cut through the water, we had several different varieties of dolphins swimming along the front of our boat, escorting us.  We had pods of bottlenose dolphins, spotted dolphins and spinner dolphins, and maybe others.  It was thrilling to watch them, and the emotion they exuded was just joy joy joy.  They seemed to be having the time of their lives, swimming and spinning, swimming and spinning.

To think that anyone could slaughter these incredible creatures for any reason is incomprehensible to me.  I'm not going to stop talking about it until the hell in Taji is stopped.

Check out these links for more information:

http://thecovemovie.com/

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/

http://savejapandolphins.com/

http://www.surfersforcetaceans.com/

Sarah Newman's Huffington Post Article “Japans Dirty Little Secret is Out”

Jennifer Grayson's Huffington Post Article “Why is the Japanese Government Hell-Bent on Killing Dolphins?”

Tara Lohan's Huffington Post Article “The Cove: Japan Has a Dark Secret It Hopes the World Will Never See“

~BigSis

Posted under Animals

I'm so glad that LilSis mentioned that she was reading “The Shack” in her last “What the L”.  Where have I been?  I hadn't heard one peep about this book, but now I know that everybody is reading it.  Some churches are reading it as a congregation and are doing studies along with it, much like they did when “The Purpose Driven Life” came out.

Back to “The Shack” though.  After LilSis mentioned it, I saw it at Sam's Club that night and read the comments on the back cover.  They sold me on the book:

• Wynnona Judd said “Reading The Shack during a very difficult transition in my life, this story has blown the door wide open to my soul.”

• Michael W. Smith said “The Shack is the most absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years.  My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way.  The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.”

• Mike Morrell said “This story reads like a prayer – like the best kind of prayer, filled with sweat and wonder and transparency and surprise. If you read one work of fiction this year, let this be it.”

There isn't much else I can add to that; those endorsements are not overstatements.  The comments got the book into my hands, but from then on the book worked its way into my head and my heart.

I won't give away one smidgen of this story.  I was fortunate to know nothing about this book when I read it, and I want you to have that same advantage.  If you know what to expect or what's coming next, your experience will be lessened, and this is truly a glorious experience that you should have without expectation.

All I want to say is READ THIS BOOK.  Read it slowly, read it thoughtfully, and then read it again.  What's it about?  It's about rage and unforgiveness and grief, and getting unstuck from those dark places that consume your life.  It's about forgiveness and love.  It's about joy, and food, and special fondness.  Just read it.  If you don't feel forever changed, let me know.  I'll eat a bug.  A big juicy crunchy bug.

Oh, and one note in case you wondered.  LilSis and I are NOT being paid to review this book – or any other item on this blog for that matter – but I want to make it absolutely clear because this book is so important.  Please read it.

~BigSis

Posted under This & That