Whitney Houston performed her first Australian gig in 12 years on Monday night and it sounds like she should have stayed home.  Many fans complained that she coughed frequently, couldn’t hit her high notes, had a raspy voice and took long breaks between songs.  She also took a water break (around 2:30 into the video) in the middle of singing “I Will Always Love You”.  Here is a clip shot by a fan in the crowd.  What do you think about it?  Leave us your comments below.  Are people being too tough on her or is she really not as good as she used to be?

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Billboard.com has published a list of The 50 Sexiest Songs of All-Time.

It isn’t a subjective list.  It’s based on the Hot 100 chart performances of songs that feature “subject matter [that is] is directly related to sex, in some way.”

Billboard ranked the songs on an “inverse point system,” which gave songs the most points for the number of weeks they spent at #1 and the least points for the weeks they spent at #100.  The data was pulled from 1958 up through last year.

Here’s the Top 10, along with their “sexiest lyric.”

#1.)  “Physical”,  OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN  . . . “I took you to an intimate restaurant, then to a suggestive movie / There’s nothing left to talk about unless it’s horizontally.”

#2.)  “Tonight’s the Night”,  ROD STEWART . . . “You’d be a fool to stop this tide / Spread your wings and let me come inside.”

#3.)  “I’ll Make Love To You”,  BOYZ II MEN . . . “Throw your clothes, on the floor / I’m gonna take my clothes off too / I made plans to be with you.”

#4.)  “Too Close”,  NEXT . . . “Baby when we’re grinding, I get so excited / Ooh, how I like it, I try but I can’t fight it.”

#5.)  “Let’s Get It On”,  MARVIN GAYE . . . “Don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be? / I’m asking you, baby, to get it on with me.”

#6.)  “Hot Stuff”,  DONNA SUMMER . . . “Wanna share my love with a warm blooded lover / Wanna bring a wild man back home.”

#7.)  “Do That To Me One More Time”,  CAPTAIN & TENNILLE . . . “Do that to me one more time / Once is never enough with a man like you.”

#8.)  “Like a Virgin”,  MADONNA . . . “Oooh, like a virgin / Feels so good inside.”

#9.)  “Kiss You All Over”,  EXILE . . . “Gonna wrap my arms around you, hold you close to me / Oh, babe, I wanna taste your lips, I wanna fill your fantasy.”

#10.)  “Da You Think I’m Sexy?”,  ROD STEWART . . . “His heart’s beating like a drum ‘cos at last he’s got this girl home / Relax baby, now we are alone.”

For the complete list of songs, click here

This weekend starting today through Sunday will be a very busy time for many restaurants. Valentines Day is a time for homemade cards, flowers, chocolate and fine food! It gives you a chance to show that you care…so why not show your skills in the kitchen and start with an incredible healthy meal? To start lets make a menu up, put together a shopping list, set up a course of action and do it.

Here’s a menu to work off of:

Mixed Organic Field Greens

Garnished with Grape Tomatoes, Cucumber and Red Onion

(Slice the garnish the day before & toss with salt and pepper, 1T. lemon juice, olive oil – place in a plastic bag and refrigerate)

Pan Seared Salmon with Whole Wheat Linguini, Thin Vegetables and fresh Parsley

<>(Purchase the 4oz. fillet when you shop, season with salt & pepper only and a light coating of oil just before you cook it; pick 4 types of vegetables you both enjoy (try to pick veggies that are bright and colorful and cut them so they can all cook equally) cut them after you have prepped your garnish from the salad and place them in a baggy as well & refrigerate)

Low-Fat Cheese Cake with Raspberry Sauce

(The recipe is below and I guarantee it’s easy to make, taste great & is a favorite of most people.
Make this the day before as individual mini cakes and
garnish with some fresh raspberries & the sauce when you serve it)

Course of action: It shouldn’t take more than an hour to shop; prep time is based on how comfortable you are in the kitchen. But if you cut all your ingredients at once you should find that it’s not so complicated.

The day of: you should really only need to plate your salad greens and the marinated garnish is coated with your dressing so that’s done; bring your pasta water to a boil add your pasta, remember whole wheat takes about 11 mins to cook, so coat your fish with a little oil and heat your pan, season and sear the fish, cook for 6 mins, on one side at a medium temperature and 4 mins on the other. When your pasta has cooked for about 9 mins, in boiling salted water (read the package instructions-if its your 1st time cooking pasta) add your fresh precut vegetables to the water and let them cook with your pasta. They should both finish at the same time…now all you need to do is drain them together, toss with some salt, pepper, parsley, fresh parmesan cheese and olive oil. Place a portion on your plate and top with salmon and you are ready to go!

Thanks have a great day and share the love from the kitchen and your heart.

Ciao

~ Bernard

Low-Fat Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

makes 8 – 6 oz

• 9 whole low-fat cinnamon graham crackers, broken in half
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1-2 T. water
• Cooking spray
• 2 8-ounce packages Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
• 2 8-ounce packages fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 large eggs plus 3 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until crumbled. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and the butter; pulse until moistened. Coat the inside of the ramekins with cooking spray and press the crumbs onto the bottom. Bake until browned, about 4 minutes. Let cool, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat both cream cheeses and the sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 5 minutes, (try in the food processor) then beat in the sour cream on low. Lightly whisk the 3 egg whites in a bowl, then add to the cheese mixture along with the 2 whole eggs, flour, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Pour over the crust.
• Place the cheesecake in a roasting pan and add enough warm water to come one-quarter of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the cake is set but the center still jiggles, about 35 minutes Turn off the oven; keep the cheesecake inside with the door closed for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the water bath and transfer to a rack. Run a knife around the edge, and then cool completely. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 half-pint fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup seedless raspberry jam (12 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon framboise liqueur

Directions

1. Combine the raspberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil
3. lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes.
4. Pour the cooked raspberries, jam, and framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until very smooth.
5. Chill.

Recently, a website called SingleMindedWomen.com compiled a list of the ten best cities for Bachelorettes, based on stuff like employment opportunities, the cost of living, access to travel and entertainment, and the ratio of women to men.

According to the criteria, the ten best cities for single women are:

#10.)  Austin

#9.)  Dallas

#8.)  Pittsburgh

#7.)  Denver

#6.)  Phoenix

#5.)  Philadelphia

#4.)  Seattle

#3.)  New York City

#2.)  Washington, D.C.

#1.)  Boston 

Feel free to share your thoughts.  I’m not a single woman so I really can’t add much more to this or give an opinion other than I think that’s swell.