Last time, I showed you how to make painted glass marble magnets, and I promised to show you how I package them for gifting, so let's get started.  We have a lot of cute stuff to do!

The first component is the paper mache boxes.  Here's what you need:

• Paper mache boxes: I like the smooth paper wrapped ones that you can find at most craft stores.  They usually come in a couple of small sizes, and if you're lucky you might find them packaged in lots of 6 including a heart, circle, oval, square, octagon and rectangle.
• Parchment paper or round labels, and laser printer
• Glue: Any glue suitable for paper, like Sobo or Elmer's

• Stamps: I painted crosses on my marble magnets, so I'm keeping with that theme with my stamp choices.
• Pigment ink pads
• Embossing powders
• Embossing heat tool
• Tongs

Make the scripture circles:

Choose any scripture (or quote) that you like and type it up.  You can do it two ways.  You can buy a sheet of laser-safe Avery round labels and use the formatting template that comes with them in order to line the text up with the labels.

I like to go another way.  I print my scriptures on tan parchment paper to coordinate with the natural color of the paper mache boxes. I think I've seen kraft-colored round labels online, but I've never ordered them.

Use software that will allow you to draw circles; I use an old copy of Adobe PageMaker, but PowerPoint or a drawing program will work. Draw a bunch of circles on your page (check the size of your box lid to determine the circle size), fitting as many as you can on one sheet of paper.  Then type your scriptures into the circles, and print them out.  Carefully cut out the circles just inside the lines with scissors.  I like to use deckle-edge scissors for an uneven shape.

Add a bit of glue to the back of the parchment circle, smear it around evenly, and place it on the inside lid of your box.  Smooth it down so all edges will adhere.  Allow to dry completely.

Decorate the top of your boxes:

Choose a stamp that will fit the size and shape of your box.  I'm in love with this “believe” stamp.  if I ever got a tattoo, it would probably look like this “believe”!

Apply the pigment ink to the stamp and then apply the stamp to the box with even pressure, but don't press down too hard or you'll crush the box.  Try not to rock the stamp back and forth. Lift the stamp carefully off the box.

Sprinkle a generous amount of embossing powder all over your stamped design.  I like to do this over a paper plate to catch the excess.  Use a different plate for each color of embossing powder. When you're finished, just bend the paper plate into a pointy little funnel and pour the powder back into the jar.

I'm crazy about a couple of embossing powders from Stampendous: Pearlized Carnelian (it turns all gold and gorgeous when heated) and Copper Tinsel (it goes all shimmery glittery).  I love how they look on the paper mache.

Holding the box top with tongs, turn on the embossing heat tool. Hold it a few inches away from the stamped image, and move it back and forth until you can see the embossing powder has melted evenly all over the image.  It won't take very long;  maybe 10 seconds, depending on the stamped image.

Some powders – like the Pearlized Carnelian ad Copper Tinsel – will magically change color.  Be aware that some powders are very susceptible to scorching if they are heated too long, especially the glittery ones.  I've done it, so learn from my mistake!

Your paper mache box is finished! The bottom of your box is still blank at this point, so you can write something there (“Love, BigSis”), or glue on another parchment circle with a message on it (“Merry Christmas 2011”).

Now for the origami box you'll snuggle the paper mache box into!

All you'll need for the origami box is cardstock, a paper trimmer, a bone folder, two-sided tape, a ruler and a pencil.  Easy enough, right?  If you're a scrapbooker or a cardmaker, you already have these supplies on hand.

You'll need two pieces of cardstock for each box.  You can use solid colors, coordinate a printed top with a solid bottom, or use two coordinating prints.  With the paper trimmer, cut one 8-1/2″ square for the top, and one 8″ square for the bottom.  This will give you a finished box top that is about 3″ square, and a bottom that is about 2-13/16″ square.  I've seen some stacks of cardstock at the craft store that are already 8-1/2″ square, and that would be perfect for this project.

With a ruler, lightly draw a diagonal line in pencil from corner to corner.  Some tutorials for this box will have you fold the paper corner to corner, but that will leave an “X” shaped crease on the top of your box, and I like for my box to be smooth, smooth, smooth on all 6 sides.

Working on the wrong side of the sheet, take one corner and fold it up to the place where the two pencil lines meet in the middle of the page.  Unfold.  We're going to call that fold you made the “first crease”.  Do the same thing for the other 3 corners, so you'll have a “first crease” for all 4 corners.

Next, take a corner and fold it up past the middle of the page to meet the “first crease” at the pencil line.  Unfold.  Do the same thing for the other 3 corners. Each time you make a fold, crease it down sharply with the bone folder or the edge of a pen.  Doing this will make the shape of your box more crisp.

For your last fold, take a corner, and fold it down to meet the “first crease” that is closest to it.  Unfold.  You're not going across the middle of the page for this fold.  Do the same thing for the other 3 corners.

So, you made 3 folds with all 4 corners:  up to the middle of the sheet, across the sheet to the “first crease”, and then down a tiny bit to it's own “first crease”.  Your page should look like this.  You have a nice grid of even squares, with a bigger square in the middle.  This is your box top or bottom.

Now we'll take this creased piece of paper and turn it into a box. You're going to fold two opposing sides of the page into a little valley shape, as you see in the photo.

Add a tiny bit of double-sided tape to the bottom of the point, so it will stay in place on the bottom of the box.  Do that for both sides. Do you see the box taking shape?

On the ends, you want to have a smooth finish so you need to make a “valley fold”, tucking the end pieces under.  This is hard to describe in words, so please see the photo below.

Attach tape to the bottom of these points on each end, and adhere to the bottom of the box.  It might help to run the bone folder along the top edge of the box, to get a nice sharp edge there.

Voila!  You just made a box out of nothing but paper and a bit of tape!  All you had to invest was about 8 minutes of your time per box!

This is the inside of your box…

one side of your completed box with it's solid orange bottom…

and the other side.

You have all of these cool components; what do you do with them all?

You have painted glass marble magnets…

paper mache boxes…

and origami boxes.

Let's put them together into a beautiful little gift that some lucky person will adore!

Take a paper mache box, add a little paper shred, and choose a marble.

Tuck your paper mache box into a drawstring bag.  Some of the bigger boxes won't fit, but that's ok.

Place the paper mache box into the origami box, adding a little more shred around it if you want to.  Put the top on, and add a tulle bow.

Cut a piece of tulle that coordinates with your box color.  For this 3″ box, I used a piece around 6″ x 30″.  You want plenty of it to get a pretty full effect.

Tie the bow on as you normally would, and then cut the loops. Pull the cut loops and the loose ends straight up, and cut them straight across to be even. Pull each of the 6 ends out to open them up, and arrange into a poofy bow. Ends cut shorter will make a tighter looking “poof”, while longer ends will look fluffier.

There you have it!  Your pretty painted glass marble magnet is nestled in shred inside a box with a message inside a box with a bow!

Before I go, I want to give you some ideas on what you can do with these.  Of course, you could sell them.  I sold several hundred to an organization for their annual meeting a while back. Each participant got their own as a thank you gift for attending. I've also sold them a few at a time for Christmas gifts; they make awesome stocking stuffers and gifts for pet sitters, hairdressers, coworkers, or your kids' friends.  They're also great little non-edible treats to tuck into Easter baskets.

My favorite thing to do with these is to randomly give them away. One year on Valentine's Day, I took a whole bag of  them to the cancer floor in a local hospital, and let the nurses distribute them. I've also given one to the person working the drive-through at a fast food restaurant who seemed to be having a bad day. I've given them out to employees of a drugstore who were having to work on Christmas Eve, and I've also given them to the volunteers on my team at the church preschool.

I don't tell you about these things to boast or to glorify myself; I just want to give you some ideas and start you thinking.  I bet you can come up with many more ideas.  If you keep a few in your purse or in your car, you'll be surprised at the occasions that arise when a little gift of encouragement is needed.  I bet you'll be glad you have them, as I have been!  One little note: when I'm putting them in my purse or car, I just put the paper mache box in a drawstring bag, and skip the rest of the packaging.

I hope you enjoy this little craft project as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you!  If you make any of these items, please send me a photo!

Posted under Home

Got a minute?

If you'd like to feel like you've just had a luxurious spa manicure without spending the time or the money to go to a spa, then look no further. The answer is right inside this little jar.

When BigSis came to visit me last month, she brought me the nicest little gift and I finally took a minute to try this Truebath and Body Works Blue Spa Just a Minute 60-second Manicure Hand Scrub.

This sugar-based exfoliating scrub really does works like magic! You simply massage the scrub into wet hands for a full minute, paying special attention to nail beds and any rough areas, then rinse, and voila! You can say goodbye to dull, dry skin and dry cuticles forever! My hands haven't felt this soft in a long time and my cuticles are noticeably in better shape. The scrub also has a very light orange-citrus scent which happens to be a real favorite of mine.

The 5 ounce jar retails for $12.00, which I think is a great bargain considering the jar will probably last for months. And, since BigSis just mentioned the big Beagle Rescue and the fact that there are still major companies performing animal testing on their products, I went to caringconsumer.com to verify that Bath and Body Works is on the list of companies that DO NOT test on animals.

So, for just a little bit of money, you can pamper your hands AND know that no animals had to suffer to bring you that product!  Score!

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Today, I'm sharing with you one of my favorite TomTom Santa photos. I did publish this one last year, but just in case you missed it, here it is again. Doesn't he look festive?

BigSis still hasn't been able to convince her two little furkids to pose in their new Christmas outfit she bought for them this year.  Since there's only one December ‘Caturday' left this month, I thought it might be fun to invite our readers to share any Christmas photos of their kitties dressed up for the holidays.

If you have a photo that you'd like to share and would love to see posted on our final December ‘Caturday' next Saturday, just send it to me as an attachment in an email to lilsis at bigsislilsis dot com. Make sure the photo is already resized to no larger than 450 x 340. I know this isn't much notice, but if I have the photos by Wednesday, December 23rd, I'll promise to have them up on Saturday the 26th!

Come on…it'll be fun. Don't tell me that BigSis and I are the only ones who dress up their furkids in Santa Hats and Reindeer Antlers! 🙂

Posted under Holidays

Happy St Patrick's Day!  LilSis and I are only 1/4 Irish at the most, so we can't really claim this holiday as our own, but it's a pretty fun little holiday anyway!  There are no responsibilities or expectations; it's just about the wearing o' the green, eating food you probably wouldn't eat every day like corned beef and cabbage (I'll pass), and having fun.  Oh, and green beer works its way into the celebration more often than not!  And do you remember when McDonald's used to have green vanilla milkshakes on St Patrick's Day?

I'm determined to find a delicious way to bake without using eggs and dairy, and I'm encouraged by my success so far with my favorite Pumpkin Bread and the Banana-Wheat Germ Muffins I made recently.  Getting braver, I decided it was time to be a big vegan girl and try something a little trickier…cake!  With St Patrick's Day coming up, I had the perfect excuse to bake!

I found this recipe for vanilla cupcakes on VegNews.com and was intrigued!  The amount of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar sounded very acidic, and I wasn't sure about 100% whole wheat pastry flour in cake.  My rule for a brand new recipe is always to follow it precisely the first go-round though, so that's what I did.

How'd the cupcakes come out?  My first thought was that they could benefit from a bit less sugar, and perhaps 25% to 50% all purpose flour in place of some of the whole wheat pastry flour.  They were pretty coarse in texture, and maybe a bit more like dense muffins than cake.

I took these to my test subjects at the office, and got a variety of reactions:

• A laugh and a shake of the head followed by a brisk/frantic walk away from the untouched cupcakes.

• Silence after eating one.  Dead silence.  Still silent.

• “It's really good, but I like things that taste like they're healthy”.

• ” That cake will take some getting used to but I like the frosting”.

• “Well, they look good.”

I'm convinced that there is a tasty vegan cake recipe out there; actually, I'm sure there are several.  Is this cupcake one of them?  Mmmm, nah.  But it's not bad.  And when you're vegan, maybe “not bad cake” is better than no cake at all?

Posted under Holidays

I noticed on Woopra the other day that someone got to BigSisLilSis.com by typing “adam richman weight gain” into Google.  I've never ever mentioned those words, I swear, Adam!  You know I love you!

That started me thinking though.  How much has Adam actually had to eat in the last 2 full seasons, plus what we've seen of Season 3 so far?  Here's what I come up with:

Amarillo:

• Spicy “burger from Hell” at Coyote Bluff
• Barbecued ribs at Moose's
• Golden Light's Albuquerque (Frito pie)
• Chicken-fried steak at Youngblood's
• 72-oz. Steak Challenge at the Big Texan (72-oz steak, dinner salad, shrimp cocktail, baked potato, and dinner roll in under one hour)

Anchorage:

• Massive sandwich at West Rib Café and Pub
• Mountainous breakfast with sourdough pancakes at Talkeetna Roadhouse

• 6-lb. Kodiak Arrest Challenge at Humpy’s Alaskan Alehouse (6 lbs. of Alaskan King Crab, salmon cakes and reindeer sausage)

Atlanta:

• Chicken and waffles with soul legend Gladys Knight

• 11-lb. Carnivore Pizza Challenge at Big Pie in the Sky (30-inches of meat-laden pie)

Austin:

• Texas-sized donuts at Round Rock

• All-you-can-eat barbecue plate at the Salt Lick

• Don Juan Taco Challenge at Juan in a Million (eat 8 massive breakfast tacos as fast as you can)

Baltimore:

• Pit beef at Chap's Charcoal
• Blue crabs at Obrycki's

• Great Steak Challenge at Steak and Main

Baseball Stadiums:

• Homewrecker hot dog

• Burger served between 2 donuts
• Fifth Third Burger Challenge

Boise:

• Double Big Jud with burger patties the size of Frisbees
• Spicy habanero pizza from Flying Pie
• Johnny B. Goode Challenge at Rockies Diner

Boston:

• Traditional New England clambake from the Barking Crab

• Spicy feast from Hell from East Coast Grill
• 12-lb. Eagle Challenge (5 lbs of hamburger with 2 lbs of bacon and cheese, and 5 lbs of fries)

Boulder:

• Wing King Challenge at West End Tavern (50 wings in 30 minutes)

• Mountain Pie at Beau Jo’s

• Saddlebags at The Buff (a secret recipe of pancakes with bits of bacon and sausage cooked into the batter)

Brooklyn:

• Gargiulo Burger from Brennan & Carr (tender roast beef on top of a cheeseburger)
• Brooklyn’s best Sicilian pie from L&B Spumoni Gardens

• Suicide Wings Challenge at Buffalo Cantina

Charleston:

• Oysters served by the shovel
• Fried chicken sandwich smothered in sausage gravy

• Spicy Tuna Sushi Challenge at Bushido Japanese Restaurant (3 pounds of sushi!)

Chicago:

• Lucky's Overstuffed Sandwich Challenge (eat 3 of their monster sandwiches in an hour)
• Italian beef from Al's

• Famous deep-dish pizza from Gino's

Cleveland:

• Greek gyro bursting with savory beef at Steve's
• Polish Boy from Hot Sauce Williams (kielbasa sausage buried by fries and slaw, stuffed in a bun, and drenched in spicy barbecue sauce)

• 5-lb. Grilled Cheese Challenge at Melt Bar & Grilled (3 giant slices of bread with 3.5 lbs and 14 varieties of cheese, plus fries and slaw)

Columbus:

• Thurmanator burger at Thurman Cafe
• Half pound cream puffs and all-you-can-eat-sausage buffet at Schmidt's Sausage Haus

• 2-1/2-lb. Dagwood Challenge at Ohio Deli (2-1/2 lb cold cut sandwich with fries in less than 30 minutes)

Denver:

• Cricket Burger at Duffy's (half-lb. patty with choice of 21 different toppings)

• Rocky Mountain oysters
• Breakfast Burrito Challenge at Jack-N-Grill  (7 potatoes, a pound of ham, 12 eggs, a whole onion, cheese and chili)

Detroit:

• Triple Threat Sandwich (bacon, ham and pulled pork)
• Coney dogs
• World’s biggest burger at Mallie’s Sports Grill and Bar

Durham:

• Burgers at Wimpy's Grill

• Chopped barbecue and smoked ribs

• Doughman Challenge (running, swimming, biking, and eating at 5 places)

Hartford:

• Woody's loaded Deputy Dog (a foot-long hot dog topped with pulled pork, melted cheddar cheese and BBQ sauce), and 2 ft Works Dog with every topping
• Steamed cheeseburgers
• 10-pound Super-Stuffed Pizza Challenge at Randy’s Wooster St. Pizza Shop (4 pizza doughs packed with meats, cheeses and veggies)

Hawaii:

• Pipikaula short rib and kalua pig
• Loco Moco (a burger dish topped with fried eggs and gravy)
• Mac Daddy Pancake Challenge (3 pancakes, 14 inches wide, covered in toppings in less than 90 minutes)

Las Vegas:

• Hottest crawfish in the country

• Fried chicken benedict and a stuffed egg burger at Hash House A G0 G0

• Big Badass Burrito Challenge at the Nascar Cafe (6 lbs and 2 ft long, covered with melted cheese, guacamole and sour cream)

Little Rock:

• Quadruple Hubcap Burger at Cotham's Mercantile
• Huge community barbecue at the Osborne Family Farm
• Shut Up Juice Spicy Pulled-Pork Challenge at The Mean Pig BBQ (super spicy pulled-pork sandwich)

Los Angeles:

• French dip at Philippe's
• 5-lb. Manuel's Special at el Tepeyac (designed to feed 2 to 4 people)

• Special Number 2 (a spicy Ramen made with 10 different chilies)

Man v Food Live:

• Don Shula’s 48-oz Steak Challenge (Adam's the first to finish it in 20 minutes)

• Joe's jumbo stone crab claws

• Supermoon Perro (a Colombian-style hot dog topped with bacon, potato strips, 5 different sauces, and a quail egg)

• Sarussi Original (a massive 16-in., 2 1/2-lb. Cuban sandwich)
• 10-lb. Mother Burger Challenge

Minneapolis:

• Juicy Lucy (burger with the cheese on the inside)
• Lutefisk at Landmark Grill

• Meterbratwurst Challenge (a meter-long 40-oz bratwurst with 2 sides)

New Jersey:

• Gigantic Strombolis from Stuff Yer Face (their biggest ‘Bolis are 18 inches and weigh 2 lbs)
• Fat Sandwich Challenge at R.U. Hungry grease truck (5 fat sandwiches in 45 minutes)
• Triple-decker deli sandwiches from Harold's Deli

New Orleans:

• Po' boys at Mother's Restaurant
• Seafood at Deanie's Seafood Restaurant

• Coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde
• 180 oysters in the Acme Oyster House Challenge (15 dozen in under 1 hour)

New York:

• 1-lb. sandwich at Katz’s Delicatessen
• Soul food at Sylvia’s
• Hottest curry in the country at Brick Lane Curry House

North Carolina:

• Chicken biscuit sandwiches
• Whole-hog barbecue
• Hot dog Eating Challenge (17 hot dogs in under 1 hour)

Philadelphia:

• Italian roast pork sandwich
• Mt. Vesuvius at Franklin Fountain (a mountain of homemade chocolate ice cream erupting with hot fudge, brownie chunks and whipped cream)
• Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge at Tony Luke’s (2-1/2 lbs. of beef over 1 lb. of cheese, fried onions and a 20-inch roll)
• Italian ice at John's Water Ice

Pittsburgh:

• Scorching Atomic Hot Wings Challenge (150,000 Scoville units)

• Sandwich from the famed Primanti Brothers, served with fries on top of all the other fixings
• Hearty breakfast at Deluca's Restaurant

Portland:

• Plate-sized mancakes (a stack of 13-inch pancakes)
• Doughnuts shaped like voodoo dolls, and a maple bacon bar

• Great Balls of Fire Challenge at Salvador Molly's (5 blazing hot habanero fritters)

Richmond:

• Buz and Ned's hickory-smoked spare ribs
• Black Sheep's battleship size sandwiches (2-ft long, 2-1/2-lb. monster sandwiches loaded with toppings)

• Stupid Wings Challenge (8 jumbo wings drenched in habanero, cayenne and pure chili extract)

San Antonio:

• Lulu’s Bakery and Café's 3 1/2-lb. cinnamon roll

• The Police Chief Special from Lulu's (48-oz. chicken-fried steak)
• Big Lou Pizza (a 42-inch, 3 1/2-foot wide, 70-lb. mega pizza piled high with toppings)
• Four Horseman Challenge at Chunky’s Burgers (a half-pound burger topped with the spiciest chilies in the world, including the infamous ghost chili)

San Diego:

• Surfin' California Burrito from Lucha Libre (filled with steak, shrimp and french-fries)
• Tri-tip barbecue and ribs

• Ironman Challenge at the Broken Yolk Cafe (a 6-lb. breakfast served on a 15-inch pizza pan: 12-egg omelet with chili plus a mountain of home fries and 2 biscuits in less than 1 hour)

San Francisco:

• Mission Style Super Burrito

• Kryptonite Sandwich from Ike's Place
• Kitchen Sink Challenge at the San Francisco Creamery (2-gallon sundae heaped with 8 softball-sized scoops of ice cream, 8 servings of whipped cream and 8 different toppings including sprinkles)

San Jose:

• Baby back ribs from Henry's
• Burritozilla from Iguana's (a 17-in, 5 lb burrito)
• Hellfire Hot Wing Challenge from SmokeEaters (a dozen wings drenched in lethal sauce that isn't even on the menu)

Sarasota:

• Homemade pies (cherry pie, shoofly pie, and peanut butter cream), and more!

• Mystery Challenge at Munchies 420 Cafe

• Old Salty Dog (a foot-long hot dog, dipped in beer batter and deep-fried)

Seattle:

• Award-winning burgers at Red Mill
• Mountains of ultra-fresh seafood at the Crab Pot
• Southwestern Exposure Challenge at Beth's Cafe (12 eggs packed with chili, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese)

Springfield:

• The Horseshoe at D'Arcy's Pint
• Corndogs at Cozy Dog Drive-In
• Firebrand Chili Challenge at Joe Roger's Chili Parlor

St Louis:

• Monte Cristo hot dogs and oak-roasted pork loin entree from Iron Barley
• Big Ben from Pappy's Smokehouse (6 lbs of pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken, loin ribs, and 4 sides)
• Crown Candy's Malt Milkshake Challenge (5 malt shakes in 30 minutes…almost a gallon of milkshake!)

Tucson:

• The President's Plate at Mi Nidito (bean tostada, birria taco, chile relleno, beef tamale and carne seca enchilada)
• Sonoran hot dog wrapped in bacon and covered in all the fixins
• O.M.G. Burger Challenge at Lindy’s Diner (12 patties and 12 slices of cheese)

Washington, DC:

• Jumbo fish sandwich at Horace and Dickie’s
• Half-smoke at Ben’s Chili Bowl
• Colossal Challenge at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Anapolis, MD (1-1/2 lb sandwich and a huge milkshake)

Ok, so all of you guys who're hatin' on my boy, Adam, consider this.  Would you gain a pound or two if you'd just eaten all that?  Hmmm?  I'd say Adam looks pretty ding dang good.  Plus, he's got awesome hair, so stop the hatin'.  Maybe you're just jealous that you don't get paid to eat?  😀

Eat on, Adam!  We can't wait to see what's next on your menu!

All photo credits: Travel Channel

Posted under Food

Hurray!  I finally found it after almost a year of searching…the perfect eye make-up remover!  It's oil-free, cruelty-free, and super-effective yet extremely gentle thanks to the aloe, chamomile and cucumber.

What is it?  It's Philosophy Just Release Me.

One of the things I love about Philosophy is their sense of humor. Here's the story from the bottle of Just Release Me:

“from caked on to baked on, from lid lock to grid lock, from dressed up to stressed out, from high shoes to win-lose, from run fast to slow down, it's time to release your eye makeup and set your sights free”

Cute, huh?  I like it already!

Just Release Me reminds me a lot of my old long-time favorite eye makeup remover; Lancome Bi-Facil, which I dropped like a hot potato when I banned animal-tested products from my home last summer.

Both of these removers are oil-free, dual-phase and look the same in the bottle: thin blue liquid separated in two layers that need to be shaken before using to blend together.

Both removers quickly remove all traces of makeup – even loads of mascara – without pulling or rubbing delicate under-eye skin, and without losing any eyelashes.

I've used both of these products in the same manner, with great results.  I wet a cotton round with hot water and squeeze out most of the water, then add a dab of remover.  I hold the cotton round over my eye for a few seconds, and then gently wipe away all of the remaining makeup, turning the pad over if necessary to finish up.

What's different between the two?  Just Release Me is $18 for 6 ounces ($3 per ounce), and Bi-Facil is $26 for 4.2 ounces ($6.19 per ounce).  That's more than double the price!

And the biggie that I already mentioned is that Lancome animal tests and Philosophy does not.  That's more than big…it's huge.

Just Release Me is currently sold out on the Philosophy web site, but it's in stock at Drugstore.com, Sephora and at Ulta, which is where I got mine.

Philosophy does not animal test, but they are not a vegan company.  If you're ok with that, then Just Release Me may be the eye makeup remover for you!

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

We had a great time last week while BigSis was here in California visiting and helping me prepare for the big baby shower! We ate Mexican food every single day during BigSis' visit and may have over-indulged just a little bit, but that's just what we do. It's tradition.

Now, it's back to the grindstone and the gym for both of us. BigSis is back to work in Texas and today was my first day back to work after several days off.

We shared a ‘sneak peak' photo of these crackers the other day when we talked about the shower and we promised that we'd be back to share the recipe with you.

This recipe is similar to one that SisMama has made for years; with only slight variations like the chives and the rice krispies. You can find this recipe for Cheese and Chive Crisps on allrecipes.com.

These crackers were absolutely “melt in your mouth' delicious and each and every one of them disappeared long before the end of the day.

I was a little skeptical about the rice krispies at first because I had always made the original recipe that didn't include the cereal, but BigSis convinced me that they would be yummy and now I couldn't imagine making them without the cereal. And the fresh chives made these cheesy crackers even more special.

The only thing that we both agreed on is that the next time we make these, we would at least double the amount of Frank's Red Hot to give them just a little more kick!  🙂

These tasty little crackers would be great for any get-together – especially a cocktail party – so give them a try!

Posted under Food

I'm not your average P90X devotee…young and male. I'm a 52 year old, vegan, menopausal woman, and I finished one round of P90X AND lived to tell about it. In fact, I'm about to start my second round.

If I can do it, you can do it!

I definitely learned a bunch of things during the intense 13 weeks of P90X and I'd love to share them with you! I want to tell you what you can expect from P90X as a woman, and what you shouldn't expect. I also have some tips for you, and some ideas on the results you might get. Let's go!

EXPECTATIONS…

• Expect to build muscle, and to increase your flexibility, strength, and endurance.

• Expect to start seeing results as quickly as 2 weeks. Expect to be proud of yourself and to be motivated by the results that you see.

• Don't expect to immediately lose a lot of weight, especially in the first 30 days or even up to 60 days. You're going to be building a lot of muscle and losing some fat too, but you may be building muscle at a faster rate than you're losing fat. Make sense? We also know that muscle is heavier than fat, so the net effect may be zero weight loss for a while. In fact, you might even gain a pound or more, but you just have to be patient. Don't freak out! If you stick with the exercise program and eat properly, then you will build muscle and lose fat, but don't expect to see an automatic gigantic weight loss immediately.

• Expect to be sore, even weeks and weeks into the workout. You may even be sore after every new workout. That's a good thing…your muscles are telling you that something is happening. What they're saying is that they're confused and they're changing!

• Expect for this workout to be extremely tough; maybe the hardest thing you have ever done. Tony Horton says P90X isn't some “silly little class”, so expect it to kick your butt, because it will!

• Expect for it to be difficult to push “PLAY“ on some days. We all have days when we're low on energy and/or low on motivation; that's just part of being human. Don't let those days control you though. Even if you don't feel up to a super-duper tough workout, just start it. Just start! Chances are, you'll pick up momentum as you go along, and you'll get through the whole darn thing before you even have time to whine about it.

• Expect to modify some of the exercises, especially if you have knee or back problems. Side lunges, for example, are terrible for my knees, so I either do them very carefully or I skip them altogether if my knees are grumpy that day. I also know that the yoga chair pose is something I can't do at all because it kills my back. Another modification I made is that I didn't use the pull-up bar in my first round of P90X, but it wasn't rest time for me when the folks in the video were doing pull-ups or chin-ups. I did another upper body move that I felt worked those same muscles, so I still got a workout on that body part.

Photo credit: aJ GAZMEN ? GucciBeaR's flickr photostream

• Expect to struggle with push-ups. Don't be surprised if you have to do “girl push-ups”, even all the way through. There's no shame in that! As long as you're doing your best, you're going to see progress in what you can do and you will get results. I personally have a really hard time with push-ups, and I pretty much hate the nasty little buggers, but I love what they do for my upper body so I keep pushing through!

• Expect to be blown away by what some of the people can do on the DVDs. These folks are not all professionals, but they are SUPER FIT people! You should not expect to be able to do everything they do! Please hear me…do not expect to do everything they can do! It's something to strive for, but don't think you should quit if you can't keep up with them. You just do the best that you can each and every workout, and you'll see improvement each time you do that workout. Their performance is something to work toward and not something to be discouraged about.

• Don't expect to be able to do exactly what the men do. Men are built differently from women. No matter how fit you are, it's not going to be hormonally natural for you to build muscle as quickly as men do, or to be able to do all of the things that they do, especially when it involves upper body strength. Don't expect to be able to do all of the variations of push-ups, for example, and don't beat yourself up if you can't do the chin-ups and pull-ups.

• Expect to be amazed at what YOU can actually do. If you do more every day and keep pushing “PLAY”, you will be stunned at the results that you'll get, and those results will start soon! You'll be proud of yourself, and will want to tell everyone you know about your program.

• Expect to love some programs and to hate others, and to feel just ambivalent about many of them. For me, the one that I absolutely hate is the favorite of lots of people, and that's Kenpo. For some reason, I just hate it, so I skip the Kenpo workout and substitute another on that day. I might do cardio or yoga or legs and back, depending on what I feel like. I don't make the Kenpo day a rest day, I just do something else that I enjoy more. I don't think exercising has to be all rainbows and butterflies, but I also don't think it has to be torture. Be kind to yourself and make an adjustment if you need to.

• Expect to want to quit. At some point, you may decide it's just too hard. This is absolutely the hardest workout that I have ever done. I've done aerobic workouts, step workouts, Tao Bo, Jane Fonda, ballet workouts, Jillian Michaels, weight workouts; you name it and I've done it over the last 25 years, and this is by far the most challenging program that I have ever done. Tony Horton makes Jillian Michaels look like a Girl Scout, and I thought her DVDs were pretty tough before I attempted P90X! So expect to want to quit. It's normal! But don't give in to the temptation!

Once you get to that frustration point, I think that one motivational strategy is to concentrate on the body part that is your favorite and that people always compliment you on. Realize that that you're just making it better and fitter. If that doesn't spur you on, maybe negative psychology is more effective for you, as it is me. I think about the body part that I am least happy with, and the fact that if I don't work out today, that body part is going to look WORSE. For me, legs are always my battle…trying to keep fat from accumulating on the stems. If I'm tempted to skip a workout I just think, guess what, your legs are going to look even worse than they already do if you wimp out. It sounds negative – and it is – but it works for me.

• Expect that you will want to talk with others about what you're going through, what you're experiencing, what your questions are, what your problems are, what your successes are. There are lots of ways to do that: the message boards on Beachbody.com, plus Twitter, and Facebook.

• Expect to want to continue at the end of the 90 days; whether you want to do another round of P90X or to go on to do something else: Insanity, TurboFire, P90X Plus, Brazil Butt Lift, whatever. You're going to want to do more once you see how strong you are, how good you feel, how much better your endurance is, how high your energy is, and how pumped up your confidence is about your body image! There's no way you're going to want to sacrifice all of that and just go back to whatever your routine was before (or no routine at all). So expect to continue!

TIPS…

• Listen to what your body is telling you. P90X is a serious workout. If you're trying to do something and your body says you're hurting it, not just exerting it, then you need to stop and make sure that you don't do that exercise again without evaluating what's going on.

• Know your body and what your limitations are. If you've been working out for very long then you know the difference between STRAIN from a muscle that's being worked really hard, and PAIN from an injury that is about to occur. Don't feel like you have to be SuperWoman, otherwise you'll end up with an injury that may sideline you for weeks. If you get hurt, you'll be set back and you'll be mad that you tried to be tough and push through when you should have stopped the moment your body warned you.

• Start out with light weights, and don't worry about being a wimp. I started out using 3 pounds for triceps and 5 for biceps, and then just worked up from that. I finished at 10 pounds for biceps and 8 for triceps, but occasionally I'd back off a bit on shoulders if I felt a little strain. I'm at the age where I know people who are getting rotator cuff surgeries and I don't want to be the next one on the operating table! That's another example of listening to your body. Don't feel like you have to do heavy weights, especially as a woman. You could use physical aids like elbow compression sleeve to reduce the strain on your arm and improve mobility during your weight lifting sessions. You'll get the muscle growth and the toning you want without heavy weights. If the guys are doing 50 pounds, don't feel bad if you're only lifting 5! This is not a competition! It's about getting fit and healthy; not winning!

• Wear good shoes in every workout (except for the yoga, of course). You'll need the support for the jumping and jogging, and for the weight workouts, good shoes give you a sturdy foundation. You also need a really good cushy mat for the 90 minute yoga workout, and for warm-ups, cool-downs, and some floor exercises. My favorite shoes are made by Mizuno.

• Try your own music if you don't enjoy the music on the videos. I don't care for the music on the yoga video, and it makes the 90 minutes feel even longer. So I choose the option for the voice cues only with music off, and I just play other music I like in the background. Just keep your music level low enough so that you can still hear Tony's cues.

• Take your measurements and photos before you start. I was a bad bad girl and didn't do it, and now I wish that I had. You ca get a feel for how things are going by the way your clothes fit, but it's just really helpful to be able to look back at where you began.

RESULTS…

I finished my first round and am about to start my second. After week 9, I had to take a 6 week break from working out after I smashed my ribs in a fall while on vacation, and then it took me 2 weeks to ease back into working out. Even so, I still got tremendous results and once I was recuperated, I started right back where I left off.

Before the fall in week 9, I felt incredibly strong. I was close to being in the best shape of my life, even compared to my 20s when I worked out every day and was obsessed with being fit. I'm now 52, 16 years vegetarian, 1 year vegan AND menopausal. The fact that I got the results that I did really speaks to the power of the program.

Being vegan, I have to use my common sense and eat in a very intentional manner, since I also do a cardio workout at the gym during my lunch hour every day. I need to make sure that I get enough protein, and that my food is giving me fuel. I don't want to be slowed down or weighed down with empty calories that I'm going to have to burn off. By the way, my favorite book on vegan sports nutrition is Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier.

So what kind of results did I get? By week 9 before I got sidelined, I built a lot of muscle, and lost about 5 pounds. I'm 5'7″ and started out at 131 pounds. After 9 weeks, I weighed 126 pounds, but I had lots more muscle. During the 6 week injury break, I lost muscle mass and got down to 123 because of it.

My arms and back both built muscle, my ever-grumpy lower back was stronger, I was more flexible from all the yoga, and had a lot of endurance. For women it's really important to have your butt lifted up, and this program does that. Between all the cardio and leg routine and yoga, your butt definitely goes back up to where you want it to be, in spite of gravity and aging!

I also I noticed my quads were more defined than they have ever been, even in my 20s, which isn't to say I don't still have some fat, because I do. I think it's pretty much impossible for women to expect they can see a day with zero fat and zero cellulite – #1 because we're our own worst critic, but #2, I just don't think our bodies work that way. I've accepted the fact that I'm going to have SOME fat that I'm not happy with, but even so, my quads were really defined from all the different exercises but they didn't get bulky.

As far as my arms go, they of course didn't get as large as a man's would, but they buffed up quite a bit and I saw definition in my triceps, biceps, shoulder and forearms. That's pretty much the whole arm, wouldn't you say? I did the Lean Program with lower weights at 12 to 15 reps, and my arms still got plenty big for me. I like for my upper body to build up a little bit, because I think it gives nice balance to the pear shape that many of us women have. For me the Lean Program was the perfect amount of upper body growth and lower body toning, so I'll choose it again.

Man or woman; we all want toned abs, right? Well, step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and get your abs right here. P90X will absolutely tone your core and build your abdominal muscles. I hadn't built a 6-pack when I finished round 1, but I saw definition and was beginning to see that vertical line of defined muscle that kind of hints that a 6-pack could be in your future. Did it hurt? Well, yes, of course it did. Ab work is always uncomfortable, but I think visible progress happens pretty quickly in the midsection, as long as you're not carrying a lot of extra weight there.

I already mentioned that I'm going through menopause, which translates into weight gain for lots of us girls. I've been on a mission to NOT gain 50 pounds and have so far been successful, but without P90X I think I would have a much bigger struggle on my hands (and on other body parts)!

The results are truly amazing and I'm looking forward to doing the whole 13 weeks without a break – God willing. Long term, I probably will rotate different workouts on different days after round 2. P90X is not a program that you do for one period of time; I think it's something you integrate into your life for the rest of your life.

ONE LAST THING…

I heard in the media that some female celebrities have done P90X with fabulous results (Pink, Demi Moore, and Sheryl Crow, for example) but I never really considered attempting P90X myself. When my nephew told me I could do it though, I was intrigued and challenged and decided to try it.

I also heard that if you want to do P90X, you have to want it. You have to want it bad. This isn't a program you can toy with or play with and then poof, presto, you get great results. You have to want it because you're going to have to work for every single ounce of fat that you lose and every single ounce of muscle that you build. If you want it, you're going to have to work for it, but it's going to be worth it.

Push yourself through this program! If it was easy, everyone would do it. When you reach your goal, you're going to be immensely proud of yourself.

One last piece of advice? Bring It!

Posted under Fitness

~ If all you can do is crawl, start crawling. – Rumi

~ There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting. – Buddha

~ Dare to believe that something inside you is greater than your circumstances. – unknown

~ Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. – George Bernard Shaw

~ The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched but are felt in the heart. – Helen Keller.

Photo credit: intent.com

Posted under This & That

One of the things I love about blogging is the community.  We share a common interest, and it seems to me that most bloggers are very supportive of each other and encourage each others' success.  And if you're lucky, at some point you might get to meet your online friends in person.

The other thing I really like is that bloggers know food!  If I see a recipe posted by Anna, Peabody, Grace, Cathy, Susan, Michelle, Susan, Lisa, or  Heather (among many, many other incredible cooks and bakers), I am confident that I can make that recipe and it'll turn out great.  If I have any questions or problems, or successes I want to share, then I know who to go to.  I can't do that with the cookbooks on my shelves.

The only problem with online recipes though is how to organize them.  I used to highlight the recipe and paste it into Microsoft Word, then print it out and save it to my hard drive.  But then I had all of these hard copies to sort and file, and who ever goes back through all of those?  There's too much paper in our lives to deal with already.  And invariably I save a recipe to my laptop at home, and then later need to access the recipe at work so I can pick up the ingredients on my way home.

What if you could save an online cookbook of all your favorite recipes, sorted the way you want it?  Well, you can do just that and it's super duper easy!  Are you using Delicious bookmarks?  If you are, then you can tweak it to organize your online recipes, and if you're not, then think about getting on board!

Delicious is awesome because you just sign up for a free account, and then you use it to bookmark your favorite pages.  It doesn't matter which computer you're on.  Your bookmarks are on Delicious, not on one particular computer.  The other cool thing is that you can choose to share your bookmarks and your personalized cookbook with other people that you specify.

So, let's set up your online cookbook!

• First, access your account at http://delicious.com or set up a new account.

• In the right sidebar, click on Tag Options and choose Manage Tag Bundles.

• A new window opens. Click on Create to make a new tag bundle.

• In #1, enter the Tag Bundle Name, something like “Emma's Cookbook”.  In #2, enter the tags that you want to use to sort your cookbook.  Separate your tags with spaces.  You could use broad categories like appetizers, vegetables, meat, and dessert, or you could use more specific tags like cookies, chocolate, soup, potatoes, quiche, candy, fruit, etc.  You get the idea.  It's totally up to you and how you want to organize your recipes.

• Click on the green Save button, and you're done!  Voila!

Now, when you go back to your Delicious home page, you'll see your tag bundle listed on the right sidebar under Tag Bundles.  To place a recipe into your cookbook, just add your tags to it before you save the bookmark.  Delicious will sort it into your cookbook bundle, and you just have to click on the tags in your cookbook to show all of the recipes with that tag.

If you decide later that you want to add more tags to your cookbook, just choose Tag Options and Manage Tag Bundles again. Then click on Edit next to your Tag Bundle's name.  Add, change or delete your tags as you wish, then Save.

That's it!  You have your own online cookbook, wherever you are!  I hope that you give this a try and enjoy it as much as I do!

Posted under Food