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April 24 Serving Your Big LifeI’m sure we’ve all experienced those overwhelming days where you just wish you had an extra pair of hands to do all that stuff you can’t get to. With so many little things to think about in our daily lives it’s always nice to be able to make things as convenient as possible. So this got me thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to have a service or support that actually did all those little unconventional tasks for you.
I was at the dentist having my teeth cleaned and it occurred to me that I HATE to floss and I would PAY to have someone come to my house and floss my teeth a few times a week. Imagine a dental hygienist with the sensible shoes, and the uniform, and surgical mask, and latex gloves arriving and flossing your teeth in your own home???? Then I was thinking...I really can't imagine employing a housekeeper full time, but couldn't someone just show up every night at about 8PM and unload and reload the dishwasher? What about someone to just sit in the front seat of your car and change your radio so you don’t have to worry about driving off the road. Just think…there are so many everyday tasks I’d love to hand over to a service- especially the little things you tend to forget. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone come in just to replace the toilet paper in the bathroom? Forget ever having to deal with that person who always leaves the empty roll without replacing it! Voila, you could just hire someone to come in and change the roll whenever it was empty. How about someone to charge your cell phone? I can’t count how many times I’ve tried to call my kids, only to get their voicemail message and later find that they forgot to charge their phone so the battery died.Why not create a service for that and avoid playing phone tag! Or better yet what if you could just hire someone to make all those phone calls for you...Now that’s living a BIG life! Even if it may sound ridiculous, think about how nice it would be not to have to worry about all those little things after a long day. So what kind of services would you be willing to pay someone to do for you? Write me your ideas. The possibilities are endless! February 27 2007 Resolutions...how's that going?In the 58 days since January 1st when we all faced up to our New Year’s resolutions, this young year has dealt us challenges we could never have anticipated. The first couple of weeks, misery did love company and the obvious trappings of holiday pounds and bad habits were enough motivation to persevere…UNTIL …The first real confrontation: Super Bowl Sunday. That spread in front of the television covered every possible vice from gambling to gluttony. Ok…so we slipped and slid (like the pigskin that Sunday in Miami?) and we were forgiven…after all, so were DA BEARS. We steeled our courage, got back to the gym and used the cold as an excuse to take refuge from our bad habits under the coverlets in the company of other (new episodes!) Desperate Housewives. But THEN…nothing could protect us from the next unofficial American holiday timed to test our mettle: Valentine’s Day. Hopefully --to paraphrase the card I sent my mother—you didn’t find yourself all alone, like the chocolate with the oozy apricot center, stuck to the bottom of an empty box of chocolates. And if you did, well there’s always next year. The lunar calendar collided on day 45 with the Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras and the long, Presidents’ Day Weekend. On Friday night I insisted on take-out Chinese, ordered a King Cake overnighted from Haydels in New Orleans, and on Monday, I rolled out a buttermilk crust for a cherry pie in honor of our first President on Monday…. That’s A BIG LIFE…any excuse for a party. Oh, yeah. There’s one more celebration I had to brave…One of my best girlfriends had her 50th on Ash Wednesday. THAT was a test…but luckily I have 40 days to get it right. Did I miss a fete or event I should have honored? Do you feel guilty about your transgressions in this New Year? Write to me! Sissy February 16 Another Big Season!What a LOVELY way to begin our second season of A Big Life on msn.com. Our To Pop or Not to Pop segment got everyone thinking romantic thoughts. Engagement stories are the stuff (and myths) of life that crosses all cultures. It is a shared experience that elicits wonderful memories, even for those whose marriages turned out to be a ...well...more mythic than real. Even the more cynical and the long, long married are transported to a special place in recalling how our lives got BIGGER after the question was popped. Thanks, especially to Brandon in TX for sharing such a creative and successful approach. We loved his humor and thoughtfulness (not to mention computer graphics and printing skills!). We just had to post his novel engagement plan on our site. Congratulations and best wishes to the bride for your March nuptials. Many have asked how our friend Michael did on Valentines' Night with his steady, Amy. I'll have to ask around...he's been scarce since we went ring shopping.... and the office pool winnings are yet to be dispersed.... Did he or didn't he?? Oh, Mike??? Are you there??? (By the way, did you check out our extra segment with Mike? More fun facts about Weddings.) We are having a blast at A Big Life. Producer, Krista and our Director of Photography (note new HD technology) Mike are busy brainstorming to find new ways to approach the kind of topics that are a part of all of our Big Lives. This week (the third gray and frigid in a row in the Northeast) we thought a burst of color was in order with our Flower Arranging 101. I have to admit, even with my experience as the lifestyle co-host of PBS' Victory Garden, I am still slightly intimidated by flower design and mixing colors and textures. Our experts at Surroundings Flowers and Events in New York City provided a perfect winter respite amongst the fragrant stems they so generously shared in our demonstration. A tiny flower arrangement can make a BIG impression. We have lots of BIG ideas in the pipeline and A Big Life already snagged a few all-access passes to get inside Fall Fashion Week in New York. By now you've seen the flashes from the runways in Bryant Park. But only A Big Life will also take you shopping for the perfect outfit...(did I mention DISCOUNT?) to wear to a fashion outing or a night out with the girls when you want to hit a slightly trendy note. Look for those big tips next Tuesday. Sissy February 12 A Big ProposalWe want to thank everyone who submitted their proposal stories. In the interest of sharing the love, check out this wonderful story from Brandon B. of Addison, TX. Brandon, we wish you and your bride a lifetime of happiness! Here’s the story of how I proposed to Heidi, the love of my life and my soon wife-to-be. I already had the ring in hand, and she knew it was coming. I had decided to involve her in the design because I wanted it to be her perfect ring. It is a custom design adaptation of an art deco ring from the 30’s of which she had found a picture. It is very different, but definitely classic. Once we were far enough along in the design decisions, she had been excluded from the final design process and we had discussed nothing about it for about two months. I’m in my late 40’s, and although Heidi is much younger than me, she is not a nineteen-year-old bride, and this is her first marriage. She is a person that is loved and respected my many people and she has many close long-term friends. I knew very well that when we announced our engagement many friends would ask her, “Well, how did he propose?” and I wanted to be able to provide her with a good story to tell and a good memory. I wrote out the story of our courtship in the style of a “National Examiner” type story, including the requisite “believe it or not” types of exclamations. The title was “Lovers meant for each other take entire lives to find each other”. I created it in a PowerPoint with a picture of us in it, and laid it out to match the format of a National Examiner that I had bought at the grocery store. I went to a copy place that could make the appropriate sized two sided color copy in the right weight paper. I removed a page, recreated it with one side of it having my “creation” and reassembled the magazine with the story coming up on page 3. I then left it out on my kitchen table for her to see. She noticed it and asked why I had it. I told her that it had a story about us in it. She didn’t bite. After awhile, I “complained” to her that I had found this great article someone had written about us and she wasn’t even interested. So she reluctantly decided to humor me. She really thought it was just another of my pointless stupid jokes, with which she is always very patient. When she saw it and started to read it, she turned away from me because she claims that she doesn’t like me to see her cry. The last line in the story was, “Then one day Brandon got Heidi to read this story, and when it got to this part he said…” She turned to me with tears in her eyes. I offered the ring and said, “Will you marry me?” Well, we’re getting married on March 03, and it will most certainly be the happiest wedding anyone has ever witnessed. We will always have this proposal story to tell, and we also have the special copy of the National Examiner to keep and remember it. Brandon B. Addison, TX February 08 Sissy's Big Blogs: Season 2Another great season of A Big Life with Sissy Biggers is upon us. Check back next week for a fresh blog from Sissy. In the meantime, gear up for Valentine's Day by watching our latest video - To Pop or Not to Pop? December 19 Sissy's BIG BLOG: Holiday CardsIt's official. Monday, December 18th, the busiest day of the year at the Post Office has come and gone and, once again, I was not in line with a carton full of holiday cards, properly stamped, with a return address and sorted by zip code. It couldn't be a whole year already since I sent my last holiday greetings???!! Well, in fact, it isn't. It's only been 10 months. Because last year, well…this year…we sent a holiday card in late January. I think I covered all the bases with this sentiment: Cheers to the Groundhog
Lady Liberty and the Year of the Dog!
Happy Birthday (in case we don't remember)
Let this card mark all those occasions
From now until December!
That verse gave whole new meaning to the “Happy Holidays” controversy.
Now, this week, with every 4x6 color photo greeting that arrives, my guilt increases with the knowledge that "faithful friends who are dear to us" will not be displaying a picture of the Biggers on their mantel swag yet again this year. I guess I got off my game when I implemented the every other year policy for Christmas cards. After a decade of faithfully straightening the hems of our daughters smock dresses and balancing toddlers on giant pumpkins, I figured friends and family would hardly notice if the Biggers girls weren't in the pile of cards one year--especially when my daughters got into the 9, 10, 11 year old run when their looks weren't changing that much. I had noticed, too, that friends with kids the same age were now propping theirs up in front of exotic locales--so the "ah hah" was more about the Pyramids in the background than the fact that Libby had gotten her braces off! One family I knew with identical twins had such a run of successive photos of their boys set in front of world monuments, it started to look like the pictures of the stolen garden gnome, positioned in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Great Wall of China.
There were some Christmases where my card was just soooooo good, I had to rest a year—or for legal issues. At a television taping, I had managed to land my girls on to the laps of talk show duo, Regis and Kathie Lee, just long enough to snap a “family” photo. When I picked up the cards at Walgreen’s my photo guy commented how well my husband was looking these days…. Once my fear of “illegal use of name and likeness” subsided we were back in pumpkin patch.
Now, that “likeness” is an issue again with my grown daughters who cannot decide on a picture in which they both look good. You can’t give a high school junior and a college girl photo approval. It will take until Easter to get them to agree that a picture can grace their friend’s holiday picture trees.
In the meantime, I am already crafting a verse for a New Year’s card as this year’s last-ditch holiday effort:
Happy New Year (already begun)
Hoping your 2007 will be a whole lot of fun!
And since February is not far away...
May we be the first to wish you a
Happy Valentine's Day! November 07 Sissy's BIG BLOG: The New Party StrategyFor some hosts, inventing a new cocktail or turning out a version of a classic Cosmopolitan in an icy shaker is the stuff of party history. It only takes one gathering that turns out the perfect French ’75 or a rare Side-Car Cocktail to create memories and expectations for your guest for years to come. But stocking a full bar for a party is expensive and tricky--not to mention sticky-- with all the fruit juices and citrus mixers that go into creating the most commonly requested cocktails. As much as we want to be able to honor the requests of our guests who are game to swirl the syrupy Gimlet to the edges of a wide mouth martini glass, or sip the frothy Tom Collins--we don’t have to provide the same service or a bar menu as Harry’s Bar in Paris, the legendary home to the invention of the many of the classic cocktails. And, in this world where the offer of a bottle of sparkling or flat water can prompt as much discussion as the question of red or white wine, we have to be sensitive to the more disciplined of today’s lifestyle. A host’s first job is to create a comfortable atmosphere for all the guests, so today’s entertaining requires at attempt at hitting right note for the drinker and the non-drinker. When I look back on our first years of entertaining as a couple in the 1980’s, I recall jugs of wines and giant “handles” of hard liquor crowding out a few cans of diet soda and cartons of orange juice atop a soggy linen table cloth on my kitchen table. I shudder at the image of the half consumed bottles of Smirnoff and Jack, discarded corks-- not so much for the disarray--but for the disregard of those who might be challenged to navigate the handles of vodka to get to the half liter of ginger ale. Back in the day, we all enjoyed the drinks without regard to excess and the potential for problem. A hold over from our college days, we partied like it was our job. Not so anymore. Though it is supposed to be “anonymous” we all know those of us who are in the “program” and, well, maybe should be in the program. I am not in Alcoholics Anonymous, but some of my best friends are which is why I am particularly sensitive to the abstemious when I entertain. When setting up for a gathering of class parents last weekend--many of whom I did not know at all—I found myself being very careful in setting up the liquor offerings. Here’s my new strategy—also great to implement when having a party of teenagers and parents. Give thought and emphasis to your non-alcoholic offerings as you do to the wine and spirits.
I’d love to hear your ideas for managing a party with alcohol in this day and age and, hey, as always…let me know if you think I’m making too BIG a deal out this. November 01 Sissy's BIG BLOG: Pasta Al FornoI pressed my nose up against the refrigerated case showcasing Lobello's Italian Delicatessen's beautifully grilled Italian vegetables and homemade sausages. I pointed to the beautiful wedge of pasta and begged the owner, Guiseppe, to show A Big Life how to make Pasta Al Forno. In Italian cooking "Al Forno" means baked and those of us without Italian roots will recognize the dish as a good 'ole casserole. Lasagna or stuffed shells are the classics, but what drew me to Guiseppe's recipe was the shape and consistency of the curly noodles. He showcases his Pasta Al Forno in big wedges like slices of a noodle cake and, as anyone whose struggled with feeding kids knows, you have a chance to get them to try if it you make it fun to look at. If you build it...they will come. Kids love curly pasta shapes and when they are baked and combined with the sauce and cut into wedges it is bound to get two forks up! Thanks, Guiseppe. You're the best Italian cousin a girl could ever have! October 16 Sissy's BIG BLOG: Halloween Mom MemoryHalloween. It can strike fear in a mother...especially if you can't sew. When my girls were really little, I remember the pressure to turn out a homemade costume to show off my little darlings--and my craftiness--in the Annual Pre-School Halloween Parade. For my daughter Lucy's first parade with her three-year olds class, I put together the classic clown costume with balloon pants and polka-dot smock using rubber bands and big safety pins hidden behind pom-poms. As the non-sewer, I was impressed with my needle-less construction and especially proud of the curly yarn pulled through an old swim cap. When the big day arrived, I struggled to get Lucy into the rag-tag costume. Naturally, it was rejected immediately in a rage of tears and frustration as she tore the shirt cardboards I'd traced and cut to make big floppy shoes over her Velcro pink sneakers. You never know how a child is going to react when they put a particular costume on for the first time. On Halloween, it's crucial to have a Plan B! On that pre-school morning I didn't have a secret weapon (A Pocahontas costume from the Disney store or a cheerleader costume from the Lillian Vernon mint). As Lucy sat on the floor removing every vestige of my attempt at a clown costume, I rifled through her drawers to find something I could fashion into a character...a vegetable...a mineral...something... I found my inspiration in a green turtle neck, a pair of bright green tights, a green knit cap and a pair of bright green knee-highs. I wedged Lucy into the ensemble and announced she would be a "Green Bean" for Halloween. It worked. She loved it. She was the only Green Bean in the Miss Moffitt's Three Day Three's Class that year…and probably since. Share your own Plan B's or tips for Halloween struggles. Add your comments below. A BIG LIFE: Behind the scenesWhen we at A Big Life started pitching ideas for our Halloween segments, it didn't take long to decide we would leave the pumpkin carving mastery and ghoulish cookery to the usual round of lifestyle experts. Instead, we turned to the more dramatic aspects of the celebrations: a good old-fashioned scary story. I can still remember the first time I heard the classic story of "The Hook." I must have been around 10-years-old, because it was one of my very first sleepovers. I climbed the stairs of my friend Meg's big, brown Victorian house with a sleeping bag rolled up beneath my arm. The atmosphere was PERFECT for a scary story, which as we learned from our expert, Stephen Stout, is rule #1 for a good story. We had a lot of fun with the whole experience and, as our first episode of A BIG LIFE, we hope it will show you our mission: make it fun and informative. Our teacher, Stephen Stout, gave us some real tips for any storytelling performance which we hope you'll take to heart the next time you craft a tale. Be sure and watch his story. He is great and gripping, indeed. Angella, our favorite makeup artist, also gave some easy basics for getting in the spirit of the 31st--using all that SCARY make-up lurking in the bottom of our make-up drawers. If you're taking your kids out this year, why not get in the spirit with a little corn syrup and food coloring! Sure, it might embarrass your Jack Sparrow or Princess as they kick through the leaves as far ahead of you as you'll allow, but it will impress their friends! Finally, thanks to the poise of Miss Grace, who was turned into a kitty cat in less than sixty seconds, we'll all have a plan B for our kids. Be sure to watch Angella transform Miss Grace in our Cat Face in less than Sixty Seconds video.
October 12 Up Your Scare Quotient when telling "The Hook"Have you watched "A Big Life Halloween: Up Your Scare Quotient" yet? If not, watch it now. Then, practice the storytelling techniques you learned while imparting this famous ghost story titled: "The Hook". A young couple on a date parked their car at the end of a dark, wooded road. It was a moonless night, perfectly still. The only light came from the radio, playing a romantic ballad…when suddenly it was interrupted by a newscaster with an announcement that a convicted murder had escaped from the prison of the criminally insane! He was in the area and easily identified by a missing right arm: mutilated in a car wreck after a high-speed chase. The criminal had a temporary hook on his right hand. The girl shuttered, moved away from the boy and said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here now!” “She didn’t like me,” he thought. “I took her all the way out here and now she wants to go home.“ “I want to leave now!” she said The boy angrily started the car. Just as he put the car into park there was a thud! SCREAM- “AHHH What’s that?!” He threw the car into drive and spun down the wooded lane as fast as he could! Her heart thumping, racing; her breathing, her arms, roped tightly around his neck. By the time they got home they both started to calm down. When they got to the girls house the boy thought, “Well, now I can impress her…I’ll show her how brave I am!” He got out of the car and then, just for effect, hit the lock button so she’d feel safe. He walked around and, trying to be the chivalrous hero, decided he would open the door. She sat in the car and waited but the door didn’t open. She looked out and there, standing frozen and wide-eyed on the spot was the boy! She put down the electric window… “What is it?” she said. And with that she looked down and there it was…hanging from the passenger door…the sharp, rusted, bloody hook!
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