Ice Cold Mavens

There's a craze going around on Face Book for a very worthy cause. It's called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It's to help raise awareness and funds for the ALS Association. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) and is a very progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and eventually leads to death. There is no cure, but there is one known FDA approved drug, riluzole, that supposedly helps slow the progression; and a few other drugs in clinical trials that are promising. For those of you who don't know of Lou Gehrig, he was a famous baseball player for the New York Yankees from 1923-1939. He was stricken with ALS in 1939 which ended his career and forced him to retire at 36 years of age. Sadly, he died two years later. He was voted the greatest first baseman of all time.

The ice bucket challenge consists of dumping a bucket of ice water onto your own head or someone elses to raise awareness of the disease and encourage donations for research. The challenge dares persons to video it, post it on Face Book and then nominate others to do it within 24 hours. However, you can decline it and instead donate money to the cause.  This idea has gotten some backlash too: stop wasting water, wasting ice, and the ALS association has gotten criticism for testing their drugs on mice, and there are concerns about how the money is spent - but the bigger picture of the whole idea is that it has raised major awareness for a disease that so many people don't know of or have forgotten. Social media is a powerful thing and through it we can raise awareness for a plethora of different causes while trying to make a difference and having a bit of fun doing it. So let's give ALS their moment in the spotlight for this deserving cause; because before you know it, we'll be donating and participating in the next big challenge for the next cause that comes up with a schtick as clever as this one.

The Black Box Wine Mavens were nominated by Bruce Smith (of the Bruce Smith Band) to take the challenge and we accepted because it's an important cause and it looks like fun. We dedicated our ice bucket challenge to a boy named Joseph Garza of Brownsville, Texas USA who we heard is the only known teen (at 14 years of age) living with the disease that is attacking his body. He was recently due to have lung surgery so we are keeping him and his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Okay and now for our video: of course we had to do it in Wine Maven style - we hope you enjoy it and that you pick a cause of your choosing and donate money or your time if you are able.

VIDEO BLOOPERS - Enjoy!!

Oil Pulling 101

So I came across this article on Face Book about Oil Pulling and found myself clicking on the link to see what it was all about. I became enthralled by the concept of it, as I continued to read about how it was an ancient ritual - an Ayurvedic remedy for oral health.  Ayurvedic??? I had no idea what this was and decided to investigate it. Come to find out it's a "5,000-year-old system of natural healing that derived from India, but both Chinese and Tibetan Medicine have roots in Ayurveda." Even the Greeks embrace many of their concepts. Ayurveda is basically a "science-of life" "(Ayur meaning Life, Veda meaning Science or knowledge). It's a Hindu system of medicine which is based on the idea of the balance of bodily systems." Oral health? I'm totally into that, especially ever since I watched an episode of The View when Joy Behar talked adamantly about how she flossed everyday because it could save your life, and how oral hygiene (if kept up) was the cure of many illnesses. This oil pulling is supposed to pull "harmful bacteria, fungus, and other organisms out of the mouth, teeth, gums and even throat."  It sounds like a no-brainer, right?  I should try it. We should all try it. What do we have to lose? But wait ... what exactly does it entail? It says you must put a table spoon of organic coconut or sesame oil in your mouth and swish it around for 20 minutes. I chose to use coconut oil as I've read about it's many benefits.

20 minutes? Wow! That is a long time. 20 minutes, huh? Okay no problem. I'll just figure out a way to do other things while I'm swishing to keep my mind off of the fact that I am indeed swishing. One very important thing I read NOT TO DO is swallow any of the oil because it's basically all the bad bacteria in your mouth that you are trying to get rid of. The last thing you want to do is swallow the nastiness you are swishing because it would totally defeat the purpose of drawing the bad bacteria/energy etc... out of your body. I want to try it, so I decide to jump into the pool of oil pulling 101 to find out if it actually works. I tell Richelle and Hubby about it to try to get them on board so I am not alone in this quest for a natural, oral hygiene that has many health benefits.  Neither seems interested for now - so I'm on my own. I wake up the next morning and take a spoonful of organic coconut oil and put it in my mouth. 

 I set my phone alarm for twenty minutes and hope for the best. 

This already isn't fun. It's like I just put a glob of mud in my mouth (but it tastes better).  I begin to kind of chew it while I'm waiting for it to liquify, so it's easier to swish, and at the same time I'm trying very hard not to swallow any of it.

I'm swishing. I look at my phone. It's flashes 30 seconds.  It's only been 30 seconds? Swish, swish, swish. Then only one minute and forty-five seconds. Swish, swish, swish - and I have to do this for 20 minutes? Oh boy! This is not going to be easy. I'm already dreading it. Finally, I get the oil to melt  in my mouth making it much easier to swish. I head downstairs to let the dogs out and hang out in the backyard with them for a while and pull a few weeds.  The hardest part is trying not to swallow it. I walk back into the house and begin to unload the dishwasher and then fold some laundry. Hubby walks in and starts talking to me and I motion with my hands that I cannot talk. Then my phone alarm goes off. Thank goodness it's time to spit. Oh wait! I read not to spit it out in the sink as it is an oil and will clog it up. So I lean over the trash can and spit. I can't get it out fast enough. Then I rinse with warm water and a sense of pride washes over me that I actually accomplished it. I begin to think, "hey that wasn't so bad, I can do this once a day." 

Day three and I find the worst part about this whole thing is chewing the oil to get it from a solid to a liquid. I do some research and find out that I can melt it in the microwave before swishing it. Oh thank God! What a dummy I am that I didn't think to do this earlier.  Tomorrow will be a whole new day. 

Day four arrives and I excitedly melt the oil in a glass dish in the microwave for about 10 seconds then stir it up to make sure it's all liquified. It comes out perfectly melted and just the right temperature. 

This is so much easier and takes the angst out of having to swish. After 1 week,  I have already noticed a difference with my mouth. 1.) less plaque - I can really tell because I use a dental pick to get rid of it between my teeth and it is considerably less. 2.) my breath is better (not that I had bad breath before, but it's different: cleaner). I tell hubby about this revelation so he decides to jump on the bandwagon with me. Next thing you know, we are both swishing in the morning. It becomes a nice little ritual. I find myself enjoying the quiet moment we share for twenty minutes - it's like a form of meditation. I love how he communicates by writing things down on a notepad and holding them up. After about five days, Hubby says he notices a difference too. His breath is fresher and he feels better over all - like he has more energy. So far this thing is working for us. It's not even a big deal anymore and twenty minutes is nothing - it flies by so fast. We found that doing this first thing in the morning works best for us; even before brushing our teeth or taking that first sip of water. Looks like we are sold on the idea of oil pulling and will keep doing it as long as it continues to provide us with positive results. 

"Other possible benefits of oil pulling for oral health include:

• Overall strengthening of the teeth and gums and jaws
• Prevention of diseases of the gums and mouth, such as cavities and gingivitis
• Prevention for bad breath
• Potential holistic remedy for bleeding gums
• Prevention of dryness of the lips, mouth and throat
• Possible holistic treatment for TMJ and general soreness in the jaw area
• Migraine headache relief
• Correcting hormone imbalances
• Reducing inflammation of arthritis
• May help with gastro-enteritis
• Aids in the reduction of eczema
• May reduce symptoms of bronchitis
• Helps support normal kidney function
• May help reduce sinus congestion
• Some people report improved vision
• Helps reduce insomnia
• Reduced hangover after alcohol consumption
• Aids in reducing pain
• Reduces the symptoms of allergies
• Helps detoxify the body of harmful metals and organisms"

Cinco de Mayo Mavens

It's Cinco de Mayo and we are celebrating!! In case you have never heard of it, here's a little Cinco de Mayo history lesson. It is Spanish for the "Fifth of May."  Basically, it has to do with the Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla (Mexico's freedom from France) back in 1862. It became a symbol of Mexican resistance to foreign domination.  That's the gist of the real reason to celebrate this fun Holiday. After some time, it is said that Mexico kind of ignored it (except for Puebla), but it continued to be celebrated by a large population of Mexican people who had immigrated to the USA and settled down in states such as Texas and California. To them it became more of a celebration of "Mexican Living" than about the Battle of Puebla, and was quickly adopted by many Americans. Give us any reason to celebrate and party and we'll take it. Most people still have no idea what this Holiday is for,  nevertheless, we were able to morph it into a Mexican version of Saint Patrick's Day - an excuse to drink, party and have fun. We go out and eat Mexican Food, drink beer and margaritas, dance, listen to Mariachis (Spanish musicians) and scream and shout, "Arriba! Arriba!"

As we get a little older, it can be quite exhausting to navigate through the crowds and deal with very inebriated folks who celebrate this Holiday (of course we have been some of those inebriated people, that's why we know - Ha Ha). Most importantly, it's also hard to find a friend who is willing to put up with everyone's drunk ass and be the designated driver. We can have fun by ourselves anywhere, anytime; so this year, we decided to tone it down a bit and celebrate at home by the pool. Of course no Maven Holiday would be complete without music, cocktails, and props, so we donned our sombreros, stuck a mustache on our face, and instantly transformed into the "Cinco de Mayo Mavens".

As we were making our first cocktail, we came up with the fun idea to concoct and drink five different drinks in honor of the "Cinco de Mayo" Holiday.  We call it "Cinco de Drinkos."  Here are the Cinco Drinkos we made:

Bahama Mama

Pisco Sour

Pink Panty Pulldowns 

Piña Colada 

and of course we ended with our beloved wine.

Wine 

Before the day ended, we were visited by a few Federales (Mexican Police) warning us to keep it down. They wondered how so much noise could come from only two señoritas? We laughed and told them it's not hard for us to do especially after cinco drinkos. We didn't want any trouble, so we assured them we would quiet down. Doesn't look like they believe us...

After all the hoopla, we were lucky the Federales only issued us a warning and didn't throw us in the slammer. Ha! Ha!   Well, it just goes to show you ... whether we are partying like rock stars or laying low it's always a jolly holiday with the Mavens. Hasta luego toda la gente!!

Ricardo the Parrot Bottle Opener 

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

Shalom and Howdy Pilgrims! It's that time of year again. A time to be Thankful for all of life's blessings: family, friends, health, running water, freedom, socks, our pets, wine, sunrises and sunsets and oh so many more things. The list is endless because pretty much everything is on it. We as human beings tend to take life for granted so this day is all about taking the time to enjoy it and reflect upon everything we have and have been given.  But this year there is a twist because for the first and only time, the first day of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving fall on the same day. Therefore making Thanksgiving + Hanukkah = Thanksgivukkah. How fun, right? It's a once in a lifetime Holiday because it will not happen again for 70,000 years! WOW! That in itself is something to be thankful for, so let the party begin because y'all know how we love parties.

Thanksgiving is Jenn's favorite Holiday and when she decides to have it at her house there can be anywhere from ten to one hundred people at one time. She has pulled off some pretty impressive get-togethers over the years. Everyone is invited: family, friends, friends of friends, pets, neighbors, and anyone who doesn't have a place to go. This year, however, happens to be on the smaller side with about ten people for dinner and seven people stopping by afterwards for drinks. We decided at the last minute to host it, so the sista wives have to kick it into gear. We started out making a shopping list and then went to the store to get all the items we needed. UGH! Grocery shopping two days before Thanksgiving is not a fun experience. Why? because everyone and their dog is out doing the exact same thing. The shelves are bare and people are grabbing the last of this and that instead of relinquishing it to the next person who needs the same ingredient. I mean, can you blame them? "Why sure sir, go ahead and take the very last can of pumpkin, I'll drive 20 minutes to the the next store and get another one. NOT!!!" Ha Ha Ha. Actually we had a pretty easy time of it, but we still ended up having to go to three different stores. We made it home with all the groceries, but we are betting we will have to run out again before the big day, because it's a given... we always forget to pick something up that we needed. It's cold outside and as we unload the groceries we decide we're in the mood for some Glühwein - which is hot spiced wine in German. This bottle came all the way from Switzerland, but we recently saw it at Cost Plus World Market and are super excited about that. We like to add a few extra little touches when simmering it on the stove - such as orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and mulling spices. It's delicious and the perfect way to start the evening.

We got down to business and started making dishes the day before Thanksgiving. We wanted everything to be prepared so that the next day all we had to do was pop it in the oven. Even with only ten people, we still had enough food for an army. Jenn doesn't know how to cook for only a few people. This curse was handed down to her by her Mother after many years of cooking for thirty-ish people every Thanksgiving. To this day, her Mother still makes a huge vat of her famous cornbread dressing (a recipe she inherited from her Dad who was a great cook) - that way there is always extra for everyone anticipating leftovers.

For appetizers we had cheese and crackers, a cream cheese, rosemary and cranberry dip, deviled eggs and bacon wrapped dates: half stuffed with blue cheese and the others stuffed with a balsamic, fig, goat cheese.

Richelle had a lot of fun making those dates. She pretty much cussed throughout the whole process. After stuffing an impressive one hundred and fifty dates, she decided they were too time consuming and would NOT be making that many again.  This year we decided to steer away from the traditional Thanksgiving food and opted for something a little different: the side dishes we made were a three onion sweet potato mash, roasted brussel sprouts with mushrooms, scalloped potatoes with garlic and Appenzeller Cheese and for the main coarse a delicious honey, thyme and garlic marinated pork loin with a cremini mushroom and red wine cream sauce. Cheese? Pork? This is so not kosher.

Jenn's mom stuck to the more traditional Thanksgiving fare and made cherry salad, potato salad, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn bread dressing and a Turkey with giblet gravy. So we actually had two very different Thanksgiving dinners (yes we know... all this for 10 people?).

Jenn also made her Mother-in-law's delicious homemade rolls from scratch. She was very proud as this was only the second year she has attempted them.

While the rolls were rising we were running around like crazy decorating and cleaning the house and trying to make it presentable for our guests. Remember, this was a last minute decision to host so it was a little hectic trying to get everything just right. Then it was time to make ourselves presentable as we were a sweaty, culinary mess...

Hopefully we clean up nicely

What about dessert? Well, as the folks in Jersey would say, "fuhgeddaboudit!" There was no way in hell we had time to bake anything so we did the next best, quickest thing we could think of and forked over some dough. Not the floury kind, but the green kind you need to purchase things. Thank God for Costco! We proudly bought a pumpkin pie, a pecan pie, and a pumpkin cheesecake. We didn't even try to pass them off as our own and were not one bit ashamed about feeding our guests store bought desserts, because they were absolutely delicious. In our eyes they were worth their weight in gold - we didn't have to do a thing but slice, serve and enjoy.

After all the guests arrived, we mingled about and were happy to see and hear that the conversations and cocktails were flowing. There was a very relaxed feel in the air and everyone was smiling and happy. This is exactly what this day is all about ... Togetherness. Being with family and friends this time of year is priceless and very special to us.

Everyone gathered around the table and held hands as Hubby gave the blessing - then it was time to fill our plates and sit down. Before we took the first bite, we all raised our glasses and toasted this special celebration. As the glasses clinked together and our laughter filled the air, it was as though we were listening to a feel-good song on the radio. The song was so uplifting that it made us want to turn it up ... way up - and we did. Mangia! Mangia! 

After dinner, Hubby cleared the table (quite impressively we might add) - Thank you Hubby! -

as everyone else sat around and continued the conversation which is what should happen. However, Richelle and Jenn seemed to be the only ones cleaning up. Hmmmm what's wrong with this picture? Not only did we shop, prepare, cook, and decorate but now we have to clean up afterwards too? Man, we are tired. This is not right. Someone please ask us if they can help? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? We should be sitting down with our feet up, relaxing, wine in hand, while engaged in the conversation. Example: "You worked so hard and the food was absolutely delicious (even if it wasn't). Is there anything we can do to help? Here, let me do that. You sit down and relax" - but instead, we are cleaning. As Richelle does the dishes, she shoots Jenn a pirate look as she growls "ARRRGH!"  

After all, it's every woman's dream NOT to have to clean up after cooking all day. So in order to fulfill our "Example Fantasy," we poured ourselves some more wine, told each other how great everything was and thanked each other for cleaning up. Don't get us wrong, we know people enjoyed it and we did hear many thank yous ... but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to emulate a Jewish Mother on this day where Thanksgiving and Hanukkah come together. Because we know, from our Jewish friends, that the job of a Jewish Mother is to "inflict guilt upon her children for actions which may have caused her to suffer" - and as we clean ALL BY OURSELVES, we are suffering! "Oye Vey!!" For those of you who don't know Yiddish, that is short for "Oh woe is me!!" Ha Ha - So Mazel Tov to us for laying on a pretty good guilt trip and Happy Thanksgivukkah to all!! CHEERS!!

Eat, Drink, And Be Scary!!

The evite has been sent out and this is what it says:

We know it's a Ghoul night and the Goblins need to be up early, but drop by for some Horror d'oeuvres and Witches Brew if you Dare and help us Scare up some fun!!

This year on the eve of Halloween it poured ghosts and goblins. It thundered and lightening and the winds roared throughout the night. It was a bit scary which made it perfect weather to stay in and prepare for the Halloween get-together we are having tomorrow (weather permitting). Here's a picture of how dark it was and then the same picture with lightening:

Richelle had to work again because this month has been a very busy time for Bouquets of Austin and weddings which is great for business. She has been working like crazy even on her days off, so that explains why we haven't been blogging as much because we haven't had a chance to hang out lately and have any zany adventures. But that's about to change very soon - The slow season is approaching and Jenn will get to have her sista wife back. Yea!!!! So Jenn enlisted her Mom and Brooke to help her carve shrunken heads out of apples for the witches brew apple cider she will serve at the Halloween get-together. The dogs even got involved - maybe it was the weather and full moon outside that was making them crazy. 

They turned out pretty good don't cha think? And it was a really fun activity to do. Here's a before we cooked them and an after photo:

The recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart and we'd like to share it with you:
Ingredients
2 cups lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarse salt
8 large Granny Smith apples
32 whole cloves
2 gallons apple cider (we used Trader Joe's)
2 (12oz) cans frozen lemonade from concentrate, thawed
2 cups spiced rum (optional-we used Captain Morgan's)

Directions:
Step 1 -
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. in a medium bowl, mix together lemon juice and salt; set aside.
Step 2 -
Peel apples and cut each in half through the stem: remove seeds and core. Using a sharp paring knife, carve a face as desired, on the rounded side of each apple half. Place apples in lemon mixture for one to two minutes ; transfer to paper towels to drain.
Step 3 -
Place apples, face-side up on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Let bake until apples are dry and begin to brown around the edges, about 90 minutes. Remove apples from baking sheets and press cloves into the "eye" sockets.
Step 4 -
Combine cider, lemonade, and rum (if using) in a large punchbowl; float shrunken heads on top. It was a big hit!

Halloween is a favorite time of the year for us. We always stay home because it's fun to just hang out and give candy to the kids. We love seeing all their costumes and counting how many trick-or-treaters we get. It's become a sort of tradition to beat the next years' record which started with 50 kids the first year and peeking with 278 kids last year. It depends on whether or not it's a "ghoul" night or a weekend as to the number of kids that we will get. Wonder what our number will be this year (as it's a week night) and if we will run out of candy?  No matter the number, it's always fun to have just a few friends over for horror d'oeuvres and good times. 

The guests this year were: The Sesame Street Gang: Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Elmo, Miss America (the Courtney Love version), The Riddler, Two Butterflies, a Jamaican Nerd, Cat and Mr. Mustache. 

 It was funny because Jenn immediately texted Richelle and said, "OMG! It's hard planning even the smallest of parties without my sista wife."  She has been going all day since 8:00am this morning and only had time to put on her leopard cat costume at the very last minute in time for her guests to arrive at 6:00pm. The Riddler walked in and starting spouting riddles as she stumped us three times in a row. As the rest of the guests started to arrive, the trick or treaters did too and Jenn was not only exhausted but her head started to spin as she couldn't keep up. She poured herself a glass of wine, sat down, and put her feet up as she glanced at the Rocky Horror Picture Show playing on television. Then she assigned The Riddler and Miss America to door duty (handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters) until she could catch her breath. It was really cute because at one point we had 25 kids at one time, in line one after the other, and each little girl told Miss America that they loved her costume. One little girl asked if she was the real Miss America to which she replied, "of course;" and then the little girl curtsied to her. It was so cute.  There were also special appearances by some Vampires, Werewolves, a Rock Star, a Witch and Peter Pan.

The night ended rather early, as it was a school night, and we ended up with only 139 trick-or-treaters. Hubby came home from his gig and was greeted by the Hounds of Hell (with lots of slobbery kisses). 

He got into the Halloween spirit by donning a few props and then diving into the left over grub.

He certainly put a dent in the food because there was nary a crumb left for a mouse after he "sucked" it down - Ah Ah Ah!  

Then Richelle came home after a long day of work and we discussed the nights events and how getting to spend tonight with family and friends was Vincent Price(less). We cleaned up as much as we could before posing for one last goofy Halloween photo for our blog. We were all exhausted and looking forward to a much needed sleep; so like zombies we crawled into our beds and lay there as we drifted off to sleepy hollow with visions of nightmares on Farm Pond Lane Street screaming through our heads.

It's as much fun to scare as to be scared ~ Vincent Price