Happy 16th Birthday, HayHay!

Is it okay to call a boy's 16th Birthday Party a Sweet Sixteen? Probably not, huh? My little baby is 16 today and he is a sweetheart, but I guess I can't do the whole Sweet Sixteen birthday party theme.

When I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, I got the same answer that I get every year. He doesn't want a big party with tons of friends and doesn't care to got out to eat somewhere expensive.  He just wants to have his closest friends over for swimming and a cookout, so that's what we're doing today.

I just mentioned a couple of weeks ago how it seemed like HayHay grew out of his bunk bed overnight. This may sound ridiculous, but ever once in a while when I see my handsome, six foot tall young man from a distance, I can't believe that he's my little baby boy.

Where did the years go?? This photo was taken when HayHay had just turned one year old and it seems like it was yesterday.

Baby HayHay

And, no, he never went on to become the next Mozart, even though he does look like a child prodigy in this photo.

My hormonal roller coaster is in tenth gear right an  I can barely even write this with a quivering chin and tears rolling down my face. (I know, it's signs of peri-menopause! Lucky me!) But today is NOT about me, even though I am the one that gave birth to him. 🙂

Today is about HayHay! I'll keep this short and sweet because if I start reminiscing about when he was a baby or a toddler or even how sweet he was when he was in elementary school, I'm going to be boo-hooing too hard to even type.

My little boy has grown into such a nice, handsome, sweet, polite, caring young man. He has a great sense of humor, has great friends, loves animals, has a great relationship with his brothers and sisters, makes good grades, and manages to participate on both the junior varsity and varsity HS Golf Teams and the HS Surf Team. Basically, he's just a good kid.

We're just really proud of our young man and wish him a Happy, Happy 16th Birthday!

Lord help me when he goes off to college!! I already know that I'm going to be a mess! It'll be the first time in our entire married life that we haven't had any children in the house!!

I'm going to go dry my eyes and turn this over to BigSis to see if she would like to say a few words…

Note from Aunt BigSis…

Oh, well, that's just great!   Thanks for getting me all emotional, LilSis!  I know he's your little boy all grown up, but he's always been my little buddy, just like his brother Big T has always been.  I can't believe he's SIXTEEN!  When did this happen??  It seems like yesterday that I was holding his hand crossing the street, or babysitting him, or just having him spend the weekend with me.

I have so many memories of spending precious time with HayHay: going to Schlotsky's and sitting in our spot, him finding Baby Gaby for the first time, choosing AshyPoo to be “our” cat at the Siamese Rescue, going to Maui twice, making him pasta shells with butter and parmesan forever, smelling the Aveda Confixor in his little spiky hairdo before church each week with him carrying his little Bible.

There are so many memories, and there are new ones being made, but BOB SAGET; it has just gone too fast!  Remember how he used to write the name of the church worship leader in chalk on the driveway because he looked up to him so much?  And how cute he was at his kindergarten graduation in the little blue cap and gown?  And how adorable he looked in that tiny tux when he was the ring bearer at his cousin's wedding?  Ok, I have to stop now.  I'm killing myself with this walk down memory lane.  It's more bittersweet cuteness than I can stand.

HayHay Kindergarten Graduation

I agree 1000% that little HayHay has grown into an awesome young man.  I have to admit that I do miss little HayHay because my last little buddy is grown now, but I look forward to the future with big HayHay!  Happy birthday, HayHay!  You're awesome and we love you to pieces!

HayHay: photo by Daddy in 2004

~LilSis

Posted under Family

I just now thought of this??  Really?  Where have I been?  This is the easiest healthy hummus recipe ever, and dare I say…the most delicious?

As usual I haven't been to the WallyMart or Tarzhay for groceries, so my pantry is bare except for 2 lonely cans of chickpeas.  I already used 2 other cans this week in a tasty chickpea salad with olive oil, lemon, mustard, lemon pepper and feta.  What else could I do with these 2 cans but make HUMMUS!!  You knew I'd say it, didn't you?  The Hummus Queen lives!

So here's my revelation.  Use store-bought pesto in your healthy hummus recipe!  I had a nice bunch of basil that I was going to make pesto from, but someone…

Gaby Baby the Basil Cat Burglar

…discovered it on the counter and has been secretly munching on it as a midnight snack over the last week, so needless to say, the surviving basil leaves were in sorry shape and they had to go to Herb Heaven (aka garbage disposal).

But store-bought pesto carries no shame!  And cheap pesto from Sam's Club is just fine in this.

I use my basic hummus formula:  2 cans drained rinsed chickpeas + 1/4 cup olive oil + juice of 1 to 2 lemons + 2 tblsp tahini + seasonings.  Usually, I add fresh garlic and maybe chives or whatever herbs I have laying around.  Sun-dried tomatoes are awesome in hummus too, by the way.

But tonight, I skipped peeling and crushing garlic, and just added 3 tablespoons of that Sam's pesto as an experiment.  And voila!  It's so ding dang good I can't stand it!  It has a nice pale green color, and the unmistakable flavor combination of garlic and basil, but it's slightly subtle and not overpowering.

I'm dying to to replicate the artichoke hummus from Ziziki's Greek restaurant, but until I do, THIS is my new favorite…Healthy Pesto Hummus!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Labor Day Fireworks flickr photo by IceNineJon

Happy Labor Day! I suppose summer is officially over now. As a final salute to the season, I have a recipe for you. I haven't been in the kitchen this weekend, so please forgive me for not including photos!  But trust me, this recipe is family-tested and approved!  And you already know what potato salad looks like anyway, right?

Here's our world-famous SisFamily Potato Salad recipe, which originally came from SisMama's dad. Ok, it might not actually be world-famous, but our family loves it! What makes it special? No to celery, green pepper, sweet relish and Miracle Whip! Yes to celery salt, a touch of mustard, boiled eggs and dill pickles. That's how we roll!

SisFamily Potato Salad

3 to 4 pounds new potatoes, as close to the same size as possible
6 eggs, boiled and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 to 6 dill pickles, finely chopped or use dill relish
2 tablespoons yellow or spicy brown mustard
Good mayonnaise to bind it all together: usually 1 cup or more
Celery salt to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes (unpeeled) until just tender.  Allow to cool just enough to handle and then peel.  They peel easier when they're still warm.  Cut potatoes into medium-size chunks; not too small.  They break up a bit when mixed, and you don't want to be left with mashed potato salad.  Salt and pepper the pieces while still warm, since they absorb flavors best while warm.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the egg, onion, and pickles together.  Add the mustard, mayonnaise and a few dash of celery salt.  Mix all together, then add in the potatoes and toss together gently. Taste and adjust for seasonings.  You may need to add more mayonnaise to hold the mixture together.  The potatoes will drink up some of the moisture as they sit for a while, so we usually make the salad pretty juicy to start with.  It's best to make the salad a day ahead or at least a couple of hours in advance so all of the flavors can blend.

For a lower-fat variation, you could use low-fat mayo, but we aren't big fans of that product.  And here's a tip that I learned from a co-worker.  To mellow your chopped raw onions a bit, let them marinate for an hour or so in plain water or in lemon juice, then drain them and pat them dry.  The liquid takes out some of the bitter strong flavor.  It really works!  You could also substitute chopped chives or scallions for a milder flavor.

Potato salad is a main course in my veggie household, but it's just a side dish in LilSis' household of carnivorous guys.  Fortunately for them, she has an awesome brisket recipe and she's going to post it for all of you with similar big appetites in your family.  Take it away, LilSis!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Banana Snickerdoodles

What to do with overripe bananas?  That's the age-old question, isn't it?  And it seems like I ask it every time I buy a few, since bananas go from green to overripe in about 2 days here in our Texas summer.  I can't stand to eat them after they get the first freckles, and I'm not a big fan of banana bread.

So, where does that leave me? Looking for new recipes, and I think I found a good one!  Lisa is Cooking recently posted on Noble Pig's Banana Snickerdoodle recipe that was adapted from Going Berserk.  Get all that?  No worries; all you need to know is that these cookies are fabulous!  Just follow the links to the recipes.

I only changed one little thing.  The recipe called for baking the doodles at 400 degrees for 9 minutes.  I did that for the first batch but they were a touch too toasty for me.  I  lowered the temp down to 375 and the cooking time to 8 minutes for the rest of the batches, and they were perfect.  This recipe made a whopping delicious 4 dozen Banana Snickerdoodles.

Stack o' Snickerdoodles

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Great stash, BigSis! Just a quick response to your question.  I must admit that I couldn't get my entire drawer in the photo. I think it cut off a row in the front and the back, so a good “guestimate” is that I have just shy of 50 of these lovely little compacts.

I've got a new favorite MAC lip gloss and a slimshine lipstick that I'll have to share with you soon.

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

I've never been an early adopter.  I don't buy the newest car, TV, camera, phone or computer operating system until long after all of the bugs have been worked out.  I didn't even get my first iPod til last year!

So, I'm also not cool.  Intentionally.  If everyone is buying or doing some fabulous new trendy thing, then I really don't want to do it at all.  I guess I don't want to feel like a trend-captive lemming, just going along with what everyone else has decided I should do or buy.

That's how it was with belly button piercing.  I wanted to do it really badly years ago, and was about to do it when the piercer/tattoo artist told me I couldn't get in the water for 2 weeks afterward, but I was in ding dang Hawaii so I knew that wasn't going to fly.  Once I got back home though, it seemed like everybody and their dog were getting their belly buttons pierced, and I lost my interest in it for good.

I have to admit that I've had that same stubborn don't-wanna-do-it attitude about Twitter.  Everyone else's been tweeting like crazy, and I just haven't had the desire to do it.  I didn't see the point.  Who cares what I'm doing right now?  Most of the time, I don't even care about what I'm doing!  Honestly, it's just not very interesting to think about what I'm having for lunch, or how long I've been in line at the cleaners, or how my mammogram went (btw, it hurt like a son of a gun, thanks for asking).  I also couldn't imagine how I could find any time in my day to put this stuff out there.

I've caved though, in fact, I've joined in with fervor!  I'm a happy little lemming!  And so is LilSis.  We're tweeting and it's so much fun!!  Who knew!  What happened?  Well, we started exploring a little and followed a couple of people.  Then we hesitantly tweeted once, and then twitted a couple of times, and then twittered like crazy, and by then we were hooked! 😀

We've made a promise to each other though.  We want to only tweet about things we would like to read.  That might be an article we think is valuable, a great inspiring quote, a delicious recipe, some important news, or maybe something just full of ridiculous fun!  We want our Twitter time to bring a little something more to BigSisLilSis, and we would love for you to come join in and follow us!

We're coming up on our first Blogiversary in a few days (woo hoo), and are excited to start our second year as Tweeters!  We'll be at BlogWorld in Vegas in 3 weeks, and plan to tweet up a storm!  Oh, and we both also just got our first smart phone last week!  Aren't you proud of us?

What's next for these two wild and crazy women?  Flat panel televisions?  BluRay players?  Stay tuned to our Twitter accounts (BigSisTX and LilSisCA) and find out!

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

As LilSis and I were rushing out of Caesar's Palace toward the Las Vegas airport the other day, we stopped at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for a quick but really delicious lunch at the bar.

The bar at Mesa Grill in Las Vegas

We wanted to try Mesa Grill the last time we were in town, but never got there, so we were determined to work it into our schedule this time around all of the BlogWorld stuff.  We were super-happy that we were able to squeeze in a speedy lunch at Mesa Grill as we were scrambling out of town.

Initially, we had an awesome impression of Mesa Grill.  The decor was absolutely beautiful with copper, wood and glass elements working perfectly together in the dining room.  Secondly, we were greeted by a very friendly, professional and helpful bartender.  So far, so good!  We're happy.

We've been pretty disappointed with the service recently at most hotels and restaurants in the city.  We don't know if it's because we're women or that we're straight or that we're forty-something, but 95% of the service has been horrible, so Mesa Grill was a breath of fresh air.  Not hating…just being honest.

Now, on to the food.  We like to try several things at a new place, so we split three appetizers.  Here's what we got:

• Grilled Asparagus Salad with Wild Mushrooms ($14) Mixed greens, grilled asparagus, pecans, Maytag blue cheese, wild mushrooms, and Red Chile Mustard Vinaigrette.

• Sophie's Chopped Salad ($10) Chopped romaine, tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, kalamata olives, cubed cheddar cheese, and crispy little squares of  blue corn tortillas with balsamic vinaigrette.

• Wild Mushroom Quesadilla with White Bean Hummus and White Truffle Oil ($14) Housemade tortillas filled with sauteed mushrooms and really good cheese (whatever it was), with a big dollop of garlicky white bean hummus on top, and drizzled with a spicy chile sauce and truffle oil.

We absolutely loved all 3 of these dishes, as well as the jalapeno cheese bread, and agreed that it was one of the best meals we'd had in Vegas.  We ate every crumb and almost licked the plate!

Was it fancy?  Not really.  But was it well-executed, flavorful, creative, and even delicious?  Was it served in a gorgeous comfortable setting by friendly, well-trained people?  Was the service quick and efficient?  Were the prices reasonable?  Oh, heck, yeah!

Mesa Grill Dining Room

We loved Mesa Grill and will absolutely go back the next chance we get.  It was totally our kind of place.  Way to go, Bobby Flay.  You've done a great job with your decor, your menu and your staff.  We're impressed!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

When you hear the words “Marshmallow” and “Easter”, do you think of Peeps or maybe those super-sugary marshmallow eggs with the hard sugar shell?  I don't because I don't like either of those Easter candies.  To me, they're the Easter version of the hard-as-a-rock peanut butter taffy wrapped in black or orange paper that you got at Halloween as a kid, and tried to pawn off on your unsuspecting little brothers in exchange for their chocolate candy bars!

I have a new Easter marshmallow treat to share with you, and these also have white chocolate.  This project isn't quite as fancy and classy as the Easter Bird's Candy Nests that LilSis made yesterday, but they're pretty fun to make and I think kids would have a ball putting them together.

The key is to get yourself a candy mold like this.  It has bunny heads and bunny bases with feet and tails (bunny butts).

I got mine at my cake supply store, but you can find them online too.  I have bunches of these kinds of molds.  They're only about $2.50 each, and you can use them for chocolate, candy melts or even soaps.  Buy just one or two, and you'll be addicted to them.  You can customize candy for any kid's party theme and color scheme.  Wrapped up in foil papers, people will be shocked that you made these cute candies yourself.  I made little green frog chocolates for a kid's party once, and the kids were thrilled!

So back to this project.  Here's what you do:

• Melt some candy melts or chocolate wafers (I like the Guittard White Chocolate Wafers; they come in mint too).  I nuke them for 30 seconds, then stir, and repeat til all are melted.

• Pour the melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle, and fill the cavities in the mold.  Once it's filled, tap the mold gently on the counter to bring any air bubbles to the surface.  Add more chocolate if needed.

• Refrigerate the mold for a few minutes until the shapes are set and cold.  Unmold.

• Now the fun part!  Use more melted chocolate to lightly coat large marshmallows, then immediately roll in shredded coconut.  Chill for a few minutes to set.

• Decorate the bunny faces if you like.  I used food markers, but they tended to slide around a little on the chocolate, so you'll probably come up with better ideas than BigSis-in-a-hurry did!

• Add a dab of melted chocolate to the bottom of the marshmallow and gently press onto the base.  Then, with a dab of melted chocolate, add the bunny face to the front of the marshmallow.

You just made a Marshmallow White Chocolate Easter Bunny!

~BigSis

Posted under Holidays

If you haven't already noticed, we don't really talk about one particular subject here on BigSisLilSis. We don't only talk about food, or fitness, or beauty products or mommy stuff'; we talk about what it is we women talk about. We talk about something different every day. With our friends. And our sisters. We talk about what's on our minds. We may talk about anything from a great recipe, a new eye shadow color, a great anti-cellulite product, our favorite foot cream to Cats in Hats, dolphins, or even hairballs!

But today, I don't want to talk about any of that; I just want to share with you this photo of my three favorite, sweet, handsome guys, all together. Just so you know, they've all shared this photo on Facebook so they don't mind that I'm sharing it here!

The Blues Brothers

From left to right; BigT, BigGuy, and HayHay, also known as The Blues Brothers. (Photo was taken July, 2009 during BigGuy's visit to San Diego.) This doesn't happen often enough since the three of them now live in three different states.

As this week of Thanksgiving approaches, it seems as if we all think more about what it is we're most thankful for.

I'm so thankful every day that somehow, someway, we managed to raise our blended family where each and every one of our kiddos considers the other a brother or a sister. No half brother, no step brother, no half sister, no step sister…just, this is my brother or this is my sister.

And these three brothers; without a doubt, they're not just brothers, they're Bros!

~LilSis

Posted under Family

How 'bout we kick off this month's series of ‘Caturdays' with a early Merry Christmas wish from TomTom? Can you tell how much he loves his new Santa Hat and scarf?

"Fa La La La La La La La La"

"I better have a nice present under the tree after being put through this!"

Here's what happened after the photo shoot was over.

Hopefully, we'll get to see some photos of BigSis' little furkids in their Christmas hats since they wouldn't cooperate at Halloween!  🙂

~LilSis

Posted under Holidays