August 1, 2009

Happy Birthday, SisMama!

SURPRISE!

Yes, we have another birthday in the family today! I just arrived in Dallas yesterday to surprise SisMama for her big day. BigSis & I have been conspiring about the weekend for a couple of weeks now and BigSis’ boss is generously letting us stay at his home on Possum Kingdom Lake for the weekend! We don’t have much of an agenda planned for the weekend other than a lot of boating, eating, and relaxing! We should try to allow for some exercise, but it’s not top priority on this trip.

We’re so excited and are hoping that SisMama will be too! (How much fun would it be to get that kind of reaction from someone when you surprise them?) 🙂

We aren’t sure if we will have any internet connection while at the lake, so you may not hear from us for a couple of days!  Have a great weekend!

~LilSis

July 31, 2009

How about something a little uplifting today as we wrap up the week and fly into the weekend?  I first saw this video on Angie’s blog Bring the Rain.  If you don’t follow it, please check it out. I think you’ll be encouraged every time you read it, as I am. What a sweet, kind spirit this woman has.

Back to the video. I fell in love with this adorable little girl and her enthusiasm as soon as the video started.  See if you do too.  Why do we lose that unrestrained joyful expression of our feelings, and replace it with inhibitions and worries about what people will think?  I want to be more like Zoe!

The song that Zoe is “enhancing” is The Blood Song by Selah; one of my very favorite Christian groups.  If you’d like to hear the song without Zoe’s harmonies, here’s a video of it:

We hope you’ve had a good week, and you’re looking forward to a great weekend!

~BigSis

July 30, 2009

Today is our dad’s 74th birthday.

We know that where he is, birthdays don’t exist because we won’t age, we won’t be sick, and we won’t ever pass from that that place of eternal joy!

Life will never be the same for those of us that he left behind. SisMama lost the one and only love of her life and we lost a great dad that loved each of us unconditionally, no matter what!

Until we see him again, we all miss him every single minute of every day.

July 29, 2009

There’s a lot going on in the news this week.

• Someone allegedly stole Michael Jackson’s nose from the morgue.  He supposedly had a jar with 6 noses to choose from in his closet.

• Rumors are flying that Rihanna is hooking up with Chris Brown again, fueled by their stays at Trump Tower in NYC last weekend.

• The Bachelorette chose the guy she’ll dump soon get married to (I didn’t watch).

• “More to Love” premiered last night (nope, not watching).

• President Obama wants the parties involved in the Harvard professor arrest debacle to sit down in the White House with him and have a beer, but it can only be a domestic beer.

• South Texas is experiencing a serious drought and off-duty cops are on patrol for water wasters, while neighbors are tattling on each other for using their sprinklers.

I don’t really want to talk about that stuff though, because today is Big T’s birthday!  Twenty-five years ago today, I became an aunt for the first time.  I’ve been blessed with another nephew and a niece since then, and all three are equally special, but there’s something unforgettable about that first experience when you realize you’re an aunt.  I can’t quite describe it, except to say that being an aunt has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

I can remember when Big T was born, and I have lots of snapshots in my mind of him as Lil T and Medium T over the years.

• I’ll NEVER forget how we had to pull over for an emergency diaper change in my ’84 Chrysler Laser on the way back from visiting our grandmother in West Texas. When I say emergency, I mean EMERGENCY DIAPER CHANGE!  Don’t breathe; just get that diaper off the kid and then let’s see how fast we can drive with the windows down to air out the funk in the car!

• I remember LilSis and I taking Lil T to the first Main Street Arts Festival, struggling with the stroller over the power cables.  I still go to that every year, all these years later, but it’s never as much fun as that first year.

• I can hear him repeating “I weddy go now!” at increasing decibel levels until we finally left the State Fair of Texas.  When he was done, he was done!

• I can see Lil T sitting in his car seat – face red as a beet and sweating like a pig who knows he’s dinner (as Dr Phil would say) – waiting on the a/c to fire up in the middle of a sweltering Texas summer.  All he could say was “Haaaa”, which was toddler-speak for hot.  We still say that in our family when we’re really hot.

• We still laugh about his acting debut as a little hobo, when he ad libbed and scooped up a fellow actress in his wheelbarrow and scooted her all around the stage, to our amusement but to the horror of his teacher!

• Even though it’s NOT funny and I’m NOT advocating violence, I can’t help but laugh at the story of him stabbing a bully kid in the leg with a pencil, after warning him that one more insult of “fancy pants” would end with graphite in his leg. 😀

• I still think about the July 4th parades we used to go to, with 100 degree heat at 9 am, and wonder why we did it!

• And I have tons of memories of his hockey goals and his smooth signature wrap-around-the-goal move.

So how did the years fly by so fast?  Now Big T is a grown-up man with a responsible job, an incredible sense of humor, a big personality, and some really cool tattoos!  How did this happen?  WHEN did this happen? Somehow 25 years passed…

Happy birthday, Big T!  You’re an awesome nephew; thanks for making me an aunt!  And thanks for all of the memories.  I can’t wait for 25 more years as your aunt.

Note to our readers:  Thanks for indulging me today while I went off on a personal walk down memory lane.  I couldn’t let this day pass without a shout-out to Big T!

~BigSis

July 28, 2009

I’m not a very big ‘movie buff”. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good movie, but we rarely go to the movie theater. We would rather spend three hours doing something outdoors instead of sitting in a dark theater. I really can’t even sit at home long enough to watch a movie; there’s just always too much other stuff that I’d rather be doing.

The last “grown up” movie that I saw at the theater was “Sex in The City, The Movie” with BigSis and SisMama last year. And on my recent visit to Chicago, I took the little guys to see “Up” in 3D.

In all reality, there aren’t that many movies that I’m excited enough about to want to go see at the theater. I love romantic comedies and I’m a real sap for a happy endings. I’m not into vampires and I can’t stand horror flicks or violent films so that pretty much rules out a lot of new movies.

When I first heard that Meryl Streep was playing Julia Child in the upcoming movie, Julie and Julia, I knew that I wanted to go see it at the theater when it opens on August 7th.

We grew up watching Julia Child and I love Meryl Streep, so I can’t wait to see this film. I love the story about Julie and her commitment to cook daily from Julia Child’s cookbook.

I just recently ordered Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen so I could browse through the book before I see the movie.

I’m think that this movie is going to inspire me to cook something from Julia Child’s cookbook. 🙂

~LilSis

July 27, 2009

A few years ago, I still had 3 cats instead of my current 2, and I really was getting tired of the daily litter box scooping routine:

• Find a plastic bag without holes

• Scoop into the bag and tie it up

• Take the filled bag to the dumpster – rain or shine, light or dark, Africa hot or Antarctica cold

If I was too lazy to make the trip to the trash, I’d occasionally leave the little bag of presents sitting on the front or back porch for later, and that’s just gross.  There had to be an easier way to handle this chore, which had to be done every day with 3 cats.  I started thinking and wishing that someone made a contraption like the Diaper Genie, but for used cat litter instead of disposable baby diapers.  I went online, and voila!  Someone does make that contraption.  It’s called the Petmate Litter Locker ($21.87 at Amazon).

Litter Locker

This little jewel does everything I want it to do.  I don’t have to dig around for a plastic bag and I don’t have to schlep the filled bag to the dumpster every day.  You just scoop the used litter into the Litter Locker with the provided scooper, and then turn the handle.  There is a long plastic bag in the Litter Locker, and when you turn the handle, you’re essentially coiling the bag and it’s contents around itself.  When the Locker gets full, you just empty the coil into the trash.

There is no odor, and you never have to touch anything yukky.  If you have several cats and like a really clean litter box, or your cats demand a really clean box, you can scoop several times a day if you want to.  It’s super easy!  And anything that makes my life easier is a winner in my book!  I’ve been using the Litter Locker for around 3 years now, and am on my second one.  After a while, I think the plastic does absorb a bit of odor from storing all that poo, so I replaced mine when I moved a year ago.

You can buy the Litter Locker and refills at Amazon.com, PetSMart, WalMart, Petco and several online pet supply companies.  I highly recommend it!

~BigSis

July 26, 2009

I’ve been told that I need to wear better sandals due to recent foot problems. I guess the foam bottom Roxies that I practically live in aren’t a good enough sandal for daily wear.  I’ve thought about getting a pair of Birkenstocks, but I like those better on men, even though they do have some cute new styles for women.

I’m curious about the claims made from women wearing the FitFlop Walkstar. Apparently, more than a million women swear by these super sandals.  There have been claims made ranging from super-tight bottoms, disappearing backaches, to instant relief from pain in the feet.

Here’s how Bliss describes the Original FitFlop Walkstar.

Why we love it:

•it’s got the gym built in!
•helps tone and trim the legs
•absorbs shock and helps to reduce joint strain

Italian designed, with an all-leather, microfiber-lined upper, leaner, longer, lovelier lines—AND they load your leg muscles and boost ‘the bottom’s’, to give you a workout while you walk! Wow. U.S. women’s whole sizes 5-10. Half sizes order down.

Original FitFlop Walkstar $49.99

BlissWorld has a great variety of these sandals that range from $49.99 for the Original FitFlops to $59.99 for the new Walkstar3 FitFlops. I love these in Flamingo!

FitFlop Walkstar3 Jelly in Flamingo $59.99

So, I need some help. 🙂 If anyone out there in the Blogosphere World has a pair of these sandals or knows of someone that does, I would LOVE to hear from you! I really want to get a pair but I’d like to hear for myself from someone that has had results from wearing these sandals.

~LilSis

July 25, 2009

Do you read the Huffington Post?  I guess I’m late to this party, because I’ve heard about it for a while but just now started reading it every day and now I’m hooked.  I love their mix of news and smart bloggy posts on this and that.

Paula Abdul photo by Alan Light

So I found this bombshell on Huffington Post last weekend.  Paula Abdul may not return for the next season of American Idol.  I know, it’s devastating and earth-shattering, but I have to report it to you.  Don’t kill the messenger.  HuffPo links to an LA Times article that says Paula’s new manager claims she’ll leave if the “rude” producers don’t deal with her.  We know that this kind of public posturing is part of the whole deal-negotiating game, but what if Paula really DID leave the show?

Would you care if Paula didn’t come back for another season of Idol?  Do you enjoy her wacky comments?  Do you think Paula is part of what makes Idol so fun to watch?  Or do you think the show would be better off without her?

~BigSis

July 24, 2009

I know it’s not as hot here in California as it is in other parts of the country, but right now, we’re having some pretty warm temperatures. Doesn’t the heat just suck the energy out of you? It does me!

If you find yourself feeling tired a lot and running out of energy before the end of the day, in other words, just draggin’ ass, maybe this article will help. A few simple changes in what you eat or what you do during the day could actually help give you that needed boost of energy. I ran across this post, “55 Ways to Get More Energy” over at Zen Habits. The post was actually written by a guest author, Greg Go. This is a great list of things we can all do to try to get more energy.

Since I like Top Ten lists, here are my Top Ten favorites from his list:

• Eliminate stress – Stress is draining and a waste of energy.
• Listen to tunes while you work – Music can boost productivity.
• Aromatherapy with lavender – Lavender increases alertness.
• Eat lots of berries –  Antioxidants boost energy levels.
• Have a laugh – Laughter is great medicine.
• Take up yoga – Feeling relaxed can make you mentally sharper.
• Look on the bright side – An upbeat outlook can keep your energy level up.
• Get more Ginseng – Ginseng can boost energy.
• Drink lots of water – Staying hydrated is very important to energy levels.
• Avoid the mid-day cocktail – Sad, but true, it’ll just make you tired.

That was my Top Ten but this little tip gets my vote for #1 Overall Best on the list:

• Have more sex – If you keep those endorphins flowing, you’ll have more natural energy. Literally, more bounce to your step!

~LilSis

July 23, 2009

Jillian Michaels "Banish Fat Boost Metabolism"

I’ve been talking about doing the Jillian Michaels’ workout DVDs for a while now:  “30-Day Shred”, “No More Trouble Zones” and “Banish Fat Boost Metabolism”.  Last Sunday’s Parade Magazine had an ad for a free copy of “Banish Fat Boost Metabolism”, which is the cardio blast video which will kick your butt!  Trust me.  This WILL get your bod to sit up and pay attention!

To get your free copy, go to JillianMichaels.com.  You will have to pay $4.95 shipping, but you’re still ahead since the retail price of this video is $14.95.  You also get a 2 week free trial of Jillian’s online weight loss program.  Be sure to note that you’ll need to cancel the program before the trial ends, otherwise you’ll be charged for continuing it.

If you need a little boost and a little fat banishing – who doesn’t – then this is the ticket!

~BigSis