I guess I don't have enough ‘down time' to think of browsing through YouTube for fun videos. When I'm on the computer, I'm either in QuickBooks, Excel, or online banking doing Accounting, checking off my tasks and keeping my calendar up to date in Outlook, working on blog posts, catching up on my Google Reader, or replying to emails.

Recently, I was browsing a new blog that I've been reading, Where's My Damn Answer?, and saw this video in one of their posts. I was happy to have stumbled upon it. It's so creative and well done that I wanted to share it with our readers.

It's just a fun, upbeat video and, I think, worth 3 minutes and 37 seconds of your time to watch it. I've watched it several times.

I love this song so much, that I'm off to iTunes to buy it for my iPod!

~LilSis

Posted under This & That

The day started off running across the street in the freezing cold rain to the Tropicana to play BigSis' new favorite game!

Meowing for Moolah!

Meow meow meow!

Here's LilSis' favorite game! She hunts this one down in every casino she visits.

Congratulations Podnah! We're drilling for Oil!

Who knew we would run into Luciano Pavarotti at the Venetian with a birthday greeting for BigSis!

An unexpected birthday greeting from Pavarotti!

After our meeting with one of the great tenors, we had a fabulous lunch on the canal at Taqueria Canonita.

Lunch at Taqueria Canonita

Now at 9 pm, we're back at our hotel and freshening up to go on to birthday celebration phase 2!  We're off to the Wynn to have a birthday cocktail at Tryst, and then maybe whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

~BigSis

Posted under Travel

Thanks for the scoop on your favorite mascara, LilSis! I love mascara, and don't leave the house without it. No mascara means skimpy lashes that don't show up, but the right mascara means long, thick lashes. It may be the most important part of my morning face, so I'm not willing to compromise on it.

A long time ago, I used Lancome Definicils regularly, but it's just too darn expensive for me ($24), especially when it seems to dry up fairly quickly. I've also used lots of the drugstore brands, and didn't like any of the Cover Girl, Maybelline, Max Factor or Almay mascaras. The cult favorite in the pink and green tube smears and flakes like crazy on me.  At some point, I heard that the same company owns both Lancome and Loreal, and that many of their products are very similar; they're just marketed differently under different company names to target a different consumer at a different price point.

I have two favorite mascaras now, both Loreal, and I use both of them every day. This may sound like overkill but let me splain; I'm not a high-maintenance girl but this method has worked for me for many years now. First I use two thin coats of Loreal Voluminous in black or carbon black.  It gives thickness and volume (hence the name) to the lashes. Next, I add a light coat of Loreal Lash Out. Lash Out is a thinner formula that won't give me the volume I want, but it lengthens (without fibers) and helps preserve the curl I've gotten from my Shu Eumura eyelash curler. Without the Lash Out, the Voluminous would let the curl straighten out during the day.  I like both of these mascaras with the straight brush rather than the curved brush.

Loreal Voluminous Mascara

I love both of these formulas. I have oily skin, and neither of these smears, smudges or flakes AT ALL. They make waterproof formulas of both of these, but I only use them if I'm going to be in the water since the regular formulas wear so well. They whisk away cleanly with my favorite makeup remover; Lancome BiFacil.  As I've said before, BiFacil is definitely a product worth the higher price point!

If I need to spend extra money for a quality product, I will, but there is no need with mascara, which is great since you replace it so frequently. The Loreal mascaras run around $6 to $8 depending on where you buy them, and there are frequently $1 or $2 coupons in the Sunday paper for them. Unless there's a new miracle mascara to hit the shelves, I'm pretty happy with my Loreal mascara duo!

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Today is officially the first day of Spring. I love Spring! I love all the blooming flowers and the smell of the air. Also, Spring means that Summer, my favorite season, is right around the corner.

I know in some parts of the country, Spring is a time for thawing out, seeing those first signs of green again, and saying goodbye to the winter blues! I spent three winters in Upstate New York, so I can relate. Now, we're blessed to live in a part of the country where we don't have to worry about snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures.

In honor of the first day of Spring, I couldn't decide what I wanted to talk about here today. I was thinking it might be nice to make a big green Spring Salad or maybe grill some Spring vegetables for dinner, or talk about Spring cleaning tips. None of those really got me too excited.

I must already have Spring Fever because all I could think about was being outside today after sitting at a computer all week. So, while outside, I thought it might be fun to share some photos with you.

Here in Southern California, you can smell Spring in the air! At this time of year, the jasmine are blooming and the air smells like a bouquet of fresh flowers. It's amazing how fragrant these are for being such small flowers!

We have a lot of jasmine in our backyard and they grow in these massive beautiful blankets.

While enjoying the flowers, I thought that this might be a good time to introduce you to Iris. She's my little wood nymph and my latest garden sculpture. She lives right here in the same flower bed with the jasmine.

Instead of Spring cleaning inside, I need to do some Spring cleaning out in the garden. I had to take a picture of the ivy growing on Iris before I cut it back. I love how it looks, but it will get out of control if I don't take care of it now.

I wish that I could take a Mental Health Day today and just work in the garden for the entire day. I guess I should be responsible and maybe just take a half day!

I hope this first day of Spring brings sunshine and happiness to everyone!

~LilSis

Posted under This & That

Hey BigSis! I bet you wish you had some of BigT's homemade Pita Chips to go along with that hummus! I normally buy my pita chips from Trader Joe's but these were really good! I'll definitely be making this recipe myself!

BigT just started the P90X Workout Regime a couple of weeks ago so he's being very disciplined with his meal planning. (If all goes according to plan, maybe we'll have him do a guest post in the near future about his progress.)

The last couple of mornings that I've been up at 5:30, the same fitness expert, Tony Horton, that does the P90X videos has a new program called The 10 Minute Trainer. I've actually gotten sucked into that infomercial! The guy is good! I'm actually considering getting the videos.

Healthy snacks are a part of the daily plan, so BigT decided to make a big batch of these pita chips to take to work. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from but he got it from his stepmom, C.

Pita Chips

1 T. Kosher Salt
1 T. Dried Basil
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Onion Powder
1 t. Dried Oregano
1/2 t. Black Pepper
1/4 t. Celery Salt
1/2 c. Olive Oil
8 Pitas (he used Western Bakery Alternative Pita Bread)

Mix all spices and oil in a large bowl. Cut the pita bread into eighths. Toss the pita pieces into the spice & oil mixture, then place on a single layer onto two cookie sheets. Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

When these were done, I was wishing that I had some of your Healthy Hummus to dip them in!

~LilSis

Posted under Food

Posted under

Last weekend I brought my camera on one of my long walks, and recorded some signs of spring that we've just now started to see.  Hallelujah!  We've had a wacky winter, even by Texas standards.  There have been a few nice surprising 80 degree days, but followed by literally 20 degree days overnight.  That's happened several times over the winter, and it surely has to confuse our plant life.  Thankfully, winter is behind us now and we're in the midst of early spring…

Spunky the Squirrel says "Welcome to Spring!"

First Azalea

First weed among new green grass, breaking through winter's dead grass

Beautiful white Indian Hawthorne blooms

Hydrangea, perhaps?

Red Tip Photinia preparing to bloom...so stinky! A-a-a-chooo!!

One little white bloom snuck under the wall to shine on his own

First green shoots that will soon enrobe this tree

Pink Cherry Blossom blooms against a blue sky

Pink against a backdrop of green

More pink...

...and more pink!

Wherever you are, I hope spring will be finding you soon!

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

Due to some major technical difficulties yesterday, I am not writing today about what I had originally intended. I had numerous software problems which caused me to have to uninstall and reinstall several programs. I also had problems downloading my photos to my laptop (which still isn't resolved). But the icing on the cake was when I realized that I had lost a couple of hours worth of input on my post for today.

My first instinct was to find the nearest wall to kick. (Luckily I was still thinking straight enough to realize that I might break a toenail if I did that, so I decided against it.)

Once I walked away, I tried to calmly ask myself, so what are my choices here?

1. Go sit in a corner and cry.
2. Find someone to yell at.
3. Have a total mental meltdown.
4. Drive to the nearest MAC counter.
5. Post about something else today.
6. Call BigSis for sympathy.

I opted for #5! I don't think any of the first three options would have made me feel any better. And I had already gone to the MAC counter once this week so I decided that wouldn't be very responsible, either.

So, since I opted not to go buy a new MAC product, I thought I could at least share this interview with you that I ran across today on The Beauty of Life.  Since BigSis and I are both obsessed with MAC, I thought this would be an okay alternative to what I had originally intended on posting today. The interview is with Gregory Arlt, who has been a Senior Makeup Artist with MAC for over 15 years. He did Cher's makeup for this Living Proof Album Cover.

He has had a very interesting career. I hope you enjoy the interview. It's about all I can ‘muster' up for today. Oh, and I did also call BigSis for sympathy!

Have a great weekend!

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

What the L is Big Sis up to?

• Leaving for Las Vegas, baby!  Adios North Texas, Hola Vegas
• Looking forward to a few days with SisMama and LilSis
• Lunching on Southwest Airlines' honey roasted peanuts
• Loving my new Relastin Eye Silk

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

LilSis Disclaimer: This is a first here; but I would like to make it known that I am not responsible nor did I contribute in any way to this post. (I think BigSis is trying to get back at me because she thought the YouTube video was crude that I posted once with the 80s workout queen farting throughout her entire workout.) I have a weak stomach and never would have been able to take these photos. So, with that said, continue reading this post at your own risk…

You read that right. I didn't say “Hammer Time”. I said “Hairball Time”. If you have cats you know exactly what I mean. The weather is warming up and that means only one thing…shedding and lots of it! And shedding means hairballs, no matter how much I brush these guys. This time of the year, it's commonplace for me to come home from work and find a little “present” on the carpet waiting for me.

When this happens, I could start looking for a company offering carpet cleaning services near me. Sometimes, if the stain is particularly large or dark, this is the best course of action. But if it is only small, or light in colour, I can usually deal with it myself. That being said, occasional visits from a carpet cleaning company will do your carpets the world of good.

Even though my carpet is new and light in color, I don't freak out. If I'm gifted with hairball barf, I let it sit and get dry and crunchy. Sorry to be graphic, but that's the best way to clean it up in my experience, and if there's one thing I have massive experience with, it's the gross things that come out of cats!! I've seen two very elderly cats through kidney failure to the end, so there isn't much that turns my stomach when it comes to cats. I've learned to breathe through my mouth and to go to the happy place in my head. Nuff said. 😉

I talked before about how to clear up cat urine odor and also my magic potion for barfage and poopage. I really wanted to share some before and after photos from this week's Hairball Fest, just so you could see that my potion works and there is hope for your carpet if you're in the mist of Hairball Time!

But when LilSis heard I was doing this post, she said: “NO!! SAY IT AINT SO!!” She isn't down with this topic, so out of respect for her and her sensitive stomach, let me add a warning. If you're easily offended or grossed out, or if you've never experienced the joys of these little kitty issues, then come back to BigSisLilSis tomorrow. If you're brave and want to see the evidence, read on, friends!

So these are my darling furkids:

Gaby Baby

Ashy Poo

And these are the presents they left me recently:

From Gaby...actually a hairball and not poop

And from Ashy

After the evidence had dried and was removed, here was the damage left on the carpet:

Gaby's stain...

And Ashy's stain

Now, after applying my magic potion just once, here are the results! And with no chemicals!

Gaby's mess all gone...

and Ashy's mess all clean!

Voila! Sorry LilSis, but if this post could help just one person, it was all worth it! 😉

~BigSis

Posted under Animals