October 31, 2008

I already mentioned that I don’t ‘do’ Halloween, but gosh darnit, I’m not about to miss an opportunity to share a laugh about cats in hats!  What’s so funny about cats in hats?  Maybe it’s how much they hate it, but how cute they can look at the same time!  I even have this 2008 Cats in Hats Wall Calendar, and you can bet I’ll be looking for the 2009 version.

Ok, enough chit chat.  Here is my own personal “Cats in Hats Gallery”.  Keep in mind that I was usually the photographer and the cat wrangler at the same time, so you’ll frequently see my hand in the frame, trying to keep the cat still enough to snap a shot.  Remember too that no kitties were harmed in the making of this gallery!  They may not be artistically fabulous photos, but just enjoy the expressions on the kitties’ faces, as I do.

Here’s AshyPoo in his 2008 chicken hat.  I love the nice profile shot, it reminds me of a kitty mohawk!  Gaby would have NONE of it; the only shot I got of him in it showed some pretty scary bared fangs.

From last year, we have the parade of kitties in the witch hat, complete with orange and black braids!

I have to mention that an actual store-bought cat costume hat is not necessary.  Use what you have, use your creativity!  Anything that will fit on a cat’s head without endangering his health can be a hat!  For example, a simple brown paper bag can become a chef’s hat!

Or, my personal favorite, a Taco Bueno bean container can become (what else) – a beanie!

Now, these photos are cute (to me), but Gaby is clearly hating it, and even though AshyPoo allows it, he’s hating it too.  Warren Bitey, on the other hand, was the greatest cat model of our time.  I actually used the second of these photos for my Christmas card that year.  It has kind of a Grinch vibe to it, don’t you think?  I put the Santa hat on him, and starting snapping photos with very little need to hold him.  I’m not saying he loved it, but he did work it!  Miss you Warrie!

~BigSis

October 30, 2008

Okay, maybe I did get a little obsessed when I found out that it was National Candy Corn Day!

I was so happy when I got home from the store this evening.  I had just purchased my first bag of candy corn this Halloween season.

Then, HayHay walks in and proceeds to tell me that he doesn’t know why, but he doesn’t like candy corn. He goes on and on about how gross it is; this coming from a 15 year old that will eat almost anything. I just calmly looked at him and said “Don’t hate on candy corn on National Candy Corn Day” .  He just looked at me and I could tell he was thinking “Are you kidding me?”

Pretty little morsel!

Oh well, I’m not going to let him rain on my parade. One final thought while it’s still National Candy Corn Day…Can you eat just one?

~LilSis

October 30, 2008

I had no idea that there was a National Candy Corn Day until BigSis sent me a link about another candy corn inspired idea.  Who knew?

I never eat sweets and I really don’t eat any sugar.  I don’t crave anything sweet at all.  BUT, I LOVE CANDY CORN. Nothing but sugar, honey, and corn syrup!  It must be something from my childhood.

It's almost too cute to eat!

Tomorrow is Halloween and I haven’t even bought my first bag of candy corn yet.  I resisted when at the store last week. I knew if I bought it too early, there wouldn’t be any left for Halloween.  Today, I’m heading out to buy a few bags; one to eat and one to make this candle display I talked about earlier this week.

My very favorite type of candy corn is the Brachs Autumn Mix that has the regular candy corn, Indian corn (with the chocolate bottom), and the little pumpkins all mixed together in one bag.  I love the post on Candy Blog about this yummy candy! Apparently, this is hard to find this year. I’m on a mission to find me a bag!

I’m going to have to add this Candy Corn Bark from The Recipe Girl to my list of things to make for my “get together” tomorrow night.  It looks like something the kids would enjoy!

YUMMY!

Candy Corn and Oreos! I’ll be binging off the walls if I eat it, but it just might be worth it! Thanks to Baking Bites for sharing the link to this recipe.

These cute little candy corn sugar cookies from Cookie Madness look really good, too!

Lovely Bite Size Little Cookies!

For more fun facts about candy corn, check out this Sweet Candy Corn blog. It may be the only known “all candy corn blog” out there.

~LilSis

October 30, 2008

Once you see everything there is to see on BigSisLilSIs today, you have to look at what CuteOverload.com posted on October 27th.  It’s a pet costume extravaganza!  There are only 3 kitty-pie costumes and none of them are that full of cuteness, so come back on Friday for our Cats in Hats post.  To tide you over til then, check my favorites from CuteOverload:

Ewok Puppy

No explanation necessary!

We're not in Kansas any more, Toto!

The donut man kills me

There are lots more of these hilarious photos.  Let me just give you a little hint of what you’ll find.  A boxer with completely inappropriate cleavage, perhaps?

~BigSis

October 29, 2008

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is almost over, but this adorable little Pink Ribbon Cookie Kit from King Arthur Flour is timeless.

King Arthur Pink Ribbon Cookie Kit

You get the ribbon cookie cutter, but you also get the vanilla sugar cookie mix, the white icing mix, pink food coloring, and pink sprinkles!  That’s everything you need!  And look at the cute little box the kit comes packaged in!

Great packaging from King Arthur!

And, you definitely need these sprinkles for the cookies.

Pink Ribbon Sprinkles

I frequently check out the King Arthur web site, but I missed this.  If it hadn’t been for this great blog, Baking Bites, I would have never known about this kit so full of pinkness!  BTW, Baking Bites introduced us to this Williams-Sonoma Acorn Cakelet Pan today, and I can’t stand how cute it is!

~BigSis

October 28, 2008

So, I’m on this bland diet for a while longer and I’m existing on apple sauce, baby bow ties, mild veggies, fruit smoothies, toast, cereal, and too many bananas to count.  But this boring diet won’t last forever, and when I get completely back to normal, look out!  I’m making a beeline for my favorite guilty pleasure snack … Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos!

I’ve never been a fan of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos because they just seem hot without any flavor, but these are a whole different story.  They’re cheesy, they’re spicy, they’re salty, they’re crunchy, they’re so yummy.  I have to stop thinking about them now.  But soon, my little Cheeto, you will be mine!

~BigSis

October 27, 2008

Do Something Good for the Cure!

Order yourself one of these cute insulated designer lunch bags from Lean Cuisine. Quantities are limited, so order now! $5.00 from the sale of each bag is going to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Lean Cuisine has already raised over $404,000 in donations!

Adorable Insulated Lunch Bags!

I ordered one with the Floral Swirl pattern and one with the Zebra pattern.  I’ll give one to a friend!

~LilSis

October 27, 2008

I love “Cure”.  She’s a very, very cute pink Ty Beanie Bear wearing a pink ribbon to support breast cancer. 100% of Ty’s profit from the sale of “Cure” will be donated to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I was surprised to find “Cure” at a local retail store because she is “officially” retired.  Now, I wish that I had purchased more than one.  I’m happy to announce that I will be doing our first “giveaway” and “Cure” will go to one lucky person that leaves a comment on this post. That’s all you have to do to enter; just leave a comment on this post.  It will be a totally random drawing.  Let’s make it more fun and say that your name will be entered into the “hat” for each comment you leave on this post.

Cure

Her tag reads:

To those we’ve lost and those we love

Our promise is to rise above

We know we’ll beat this, that’s for sure

Support this cause, help find a cure!

The majority of women know at least one person who has battled this disease and most of us know more than one.  It’s time to find a cure!

I’ll do the drawing on November 2, 2008.  That’s the day of my San Diego Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, so it seems like a good date to do the drawing. It won’t be Breast Cancer Awareness Month any more but we need to keep talking about this throughout the year!

~LilSis

October 26, 2008

BigSis has already said that she isn’t a “Halloween Celebrater”. I, on the other hand, love to decorate for Halloween and love to host Halloween parties. I have just found it a little hard this year to get into the “Halloween Spirit” because it has been so unseasonably warm here in Southern California. I had this weekend set aside to get the yard and front porch all decorated. “Best laid plans!”

We found out that HayHay had his first surf competition yesterday. So, instead of decorating the house, I drove down to Mission Bay for a day at the beach to watch surfers compete! “You do what you gotta do, right?” HayHay came in first place so now we have to be back down at the beach at 11:00 this morning. I really don’t know when I’m going to get this house decorated!

I’ve been “surfing the net” trying to get some new, quick, and easy ideas.

I NEVER eat sweets, but for some crazy reason, I LOVE CANDY CORN! So, of course I love this entire “Candy Corn inspired” theme from Hostess with the Mostess!

I JUST LOVE THE CANDY CORN DECOR!

(Maybe I won’t be tempted to eat the candy corn if it’s in a vase with a candle or flowers!)

I don’t like scary stuff so I don’t like any of the “skull & crossbones” party themes. I was really happy when I found this “Playful Mod” theme. It’s perfect for adults and children. I have a bunch of fun Halloween candle holders from PartyLites that will match this theme perfectly, so I’ll do something like this for Friday night at our house. I’ve even seen some neon Halloween-themed lights, so that could be good too. Those lights from www.neonfilter.com can be personalized to say whatever you want, so you could make it as spooky as you like. That could be a great addition to Halloween decorations.

I LOVE THE ORANGE, PURPLE, & GREEN COLOR COMBINATION!

I think these spider toothpicks will go well with this party theme!

Cute little Spider Toothpicks!

There are recipes galore for very cute, “bat shaped” cookies and candy corn cookies and intricately decorated cupcakes, but those recipes are for those of you who are more prepared than I am this year. At this late date, I’m looking for fun, quick, and easy. I found this recipe for Scary Spiderweb Cupcakes on Betty Crocker. I love that the web is just made with the black decorating gel and the spiders are made from gumdrops. Looks easy enough; even for me.

Scary Spider Cupcakes

I love this Chocolate Marshmallow Ghost Cake! One of Martha’s readers said that she simplified it by using two white cake mixes, instead of starting from scratch. I might have to do that…

Ghostly Marshmallow Cake!

Check out this great idea for a Witch’s Curtain! You just use trash bags!

Easy Witch Curtain

Every year, we sit aside one night for a Family Pumpkin Carving Competition. “Yikes!” It just snuck up on me this year. We’ll do that either Tuesday or Wednesday night and if they turn out “worthy of being photographed”, I’ll post some photos on Friday. I like this Pumpkin Totem idea from Martha.

I really like this pumpkin totem!

I hope this helps those of you who need some new, quick and easy ideas for this Halloween! Happy Halloween Decorating!

~LilSis

October 25, 2008

In Part 1 of Nasty Virus, I talked about how I knew there were lessons to be learned from this experience, and some of them are clear to me.

• Be ready to be diverted. Clearly, we should live with goals and plans, rather than aimlessly drifting through life.  But we have to realize that God may detour us.  It could be a temporary derailment, or it could be a permanent redirection.  I had lots of plans for the last few weeks, but I went off on this little detour for a reason and I have to pay attention to it.  If I don’t get anything out of it, then it was just a wasted few weeks of illness and recuperation and not a learning experience.
• You have to let people help you. I’m pretty independent, but the main reason I don’t like for people to help me is I feel it’s inconvenient or an imposition, not that I’m too proud to accept help from people.  I had to have some help during this illness, and I realized it wasn’t right to block people from blessing me.  So thank you to the people who drove me here and there, who brought me groceries, who brought me things from home, who took care of my cats, who sent me flowers, who visited me and kept me company.  You were a blessing!
• I can do a better job of taking care of myself. I usually live pretty healthfully: I eat well with no meat at all, I don’t consume caffeine, I don’t smoke, I drink a ton of water, I take the supplements that I think are important, I exercise regularly, and I try to get adequate sleep.  I have a strong immune system and I’m generally strong.  But I can do better, and I’m inspired to do so.  There are those nights when I have a handful of almonds for dinner (single people: you know you do this too).  Or even worse, how about cheese and crackers or cheetos for a meal?  I have my salty snack weakness and when I’m stressed or tired it takes over.  I want to eat more intentionally, wash my hands even more, faithfully use the germ wipes on grocery carts, and do more yoga to handle stress better.  Doing these things won’t prevent an illness like this from happening again…I know I’m not bulletproof.  But I want to do better.  If I hadn’t been strong and healthy going into this illness, it would have taken a greater toll on my health than it did.  Out of gratitude for that blessing, I want to take even better care of myself.
• God is in control. This isn’t something I just learned, but it’s a reminder that I can always benefit from.  I was reminded that I can be put into a frightening situation that has an unknown outcome, and God will bring me through it with peace.  I had never been in the hospital until this, and had never been seriously ill.  Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, I wasn’t freaking out.  And I know it was and is because the peace of God was with me, and He is in control.

There will probably be more lessons to learn from the Nasty Virus experience, but these are the ones I see already.  In Part 3 of Nasty Virus, I’ll talk about the challenges of getting back to exercise.

~BigSis