It Begins

  I've been baking cookies since I was a kid so I'm no slouch when it comes to baking.So it makes sense that my New Year's Resolution is to bake every recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookie Book. I used my Mom's copy when I was a kid, copied my favorites from it when I moved out, and was thrilled when I got a copy for Christmas a few years ago (a reprint of the 1961 edition). There are so many recipes I've always wanted to try, but just never did - like those twisted candy canes or the painted gingham dog and calico cat. So here I go. I'm starting with the first recipe, and going through in order.

It's like a teeny-tiny ice cream scoop!

Betty starts you out easy - drop cookies.  These are the kind of cookies I love to make - quick and easy! They're why I bought a cookie scoop.

 So the first recipe is applesauce cookies. They're cakey with a bit of spice. At first I thought they were bland, but a few hours later, the flavor developed a bit, now I can't stop eating them. That scoop makes the perfect "pop a whole one in your mouth" sized cookie. I had to put them away and put the can of chicken cereal on top of them so I won't take one every time I walk by!

I have a feeling I'm going to be giving away a lot of cookies this year. If you're in the neighborhood, drop by and I'll send you home with a couple dozen!

An Announcement

It's the time of year when people "announce" their New Year's Resolutions, so that's what I'm doing.

  So many people make resolutions that they never stick to. They set almost unrealistic goals for themselves. Sure, I'd love to lose 15 pounds, but a resolution isn't going to make me any more motivated to eat salad a for every meal. I really do want to ride my bike every day, but real life often gets in the way. But I am making a resolution that I know I will stick to. I know this will happen. Maybe not in  one year, it might take longer.

In 2013, I resolve to make every recipe in my favorite cookbook:

It's going to be tough, some are kind of weird. I will skip the "Baking for a Crowd" pages though. Lord knows, I don't need twenty dozen cookies hanging around.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. I suppose I'd better watch "Julie and Julia" for inspiration.

Hurry!

Wow, I can't believe it's only 5 days until Christmas! I haven't even gotten my Christmas cards out. Anyway, Karl has a great idea for this year's letter, but he's been too busy at work to get it written. So, if you normally get a card from us, be patient, it will come.

Last night we had our first big snow, with more to come later today (the blizzard warning goes in to effect at noon today), so no brown Christmas this year. I hope the snow stays around for the Cyclocross National Championship in January, so all those people from elsewhere learn about real Wisconsin winter.

I've got cookie dough chilling and the cookie cutters are ready to go. Karl and Katrina have a snow day today, so they're rolling, cutting, and baking this afternoon. We'll decorate tonight after dinner. I'll be sure to get some photos of the best cookies of the year. I have some new cookie cutters that will make for fun cookies.

And now, I have to get ready for work. I hope today will be a short one because of the weather. I want to play in the snow too!

Part 4, In Which I Eat Lobster

  There's been so much excitement around here, with the new TV and the eggs, and now Christmas season is upon us; I almost forgot that I was still telling you all about my trip! To review: I arrived, I shopped, I biked and it is now Sunday, the day after the ride.

  So, I mentioned that I received a lunch invitation. Yup. I was invited to have lunch with 3-D Ted's Mom and Dad. I had such a good time talking to Mom after the ride, of course I said yes.  It was yet another beautiful day, and Dad gave a tour of the King Estate - he's very proud of it, I could tell (and rightly so, it was beautiful!). It was very low key, and I had a great time. Dad asked if I could knit him some fingerless gloves, (and those are in progress right now).

  After lunch, I wandered back and finally found the ocean!!

  I was wearing the wrong shoes to step out onto the beach, so I had a nice walk on the sidewalk. None of the shops were open, so I couldn't buy any cheesy souvenirs. I was hoping to find something "crabby" for Karl and Katrina, since they are both my KrABs. Maybe next year.

  My other goal for this trip (besides to ride my bike for 30 miles in a row) was to eat a lobster roll. Now, I believe I have explained my relationship with lobster before, so I won't go in to it again. But, it has been at least 20 years since I tasted it. Tastes change, so maybe I like lobster now. It's possible, right? I'm in New England, I can't not try it. So, on the advice of a friend, I set off to the Beach Plum, home of New England's Best Lobster Roll.

Here's the Before

That's a BIG lobster roll!

And, here's the After

The chips were good, anyway.

  No, it's official, I Really Do Not Like Lobster. So, here I am, with a $20 lobster roll that I'm not going to eat. I felt really bad, and did not want to just throw it away in front of everyone. So, like a big girl I asked for a to-go container and stashed it away and left in a hurry (like maybe I was late for an appointment or something). The problem was, I was still hungry but nothing sounded good. So, I headed to a nearby grocery store, hoping for inspiration. I threw away my "leftovers" on the way in to the store. It was Sunday night, the hot food had already been taken off the deli, so I ended up with a microwave dinner and a mini box of wine (and a straw). How depressing. I believe this is where the whole tone of the trip took a dive. Back in my room, I heated up the dinner, unscrewed the wine and turned on the TV. Luckily, I found something good to watch, or otherwise, I would have skipped the dinner and gone straight to bed. A mini box of wine is two or three glasses, and I'm a real lightweight. It's a good thing I didn't have to drive.

  And that's the end of the day. Up next: A traveler's worst nightmare.

Monumental!

I've plastered this all over the place, but I'm so proud and excited!! Our first egg!!

We're going to hollow it out and keep it forever.

I Went For A Bike Ride!

  It's time for another installment of "Becky's Awesome Vacation Stories."

  Let's review what we've already covered: I arrived and went to Walgreens. I visited the Krempels Center, ate a cupcake and went to bed early.

  Saturday morning, I awoke to the pitter-patter of rain. Uh oh. Riding in the rain is no fun. I looked out the window, and not only was it raining, but it was also really foggy. Double uh oh. I'm glad I brought rain gear. So, I had breakfast, kitted up, plugged the address into Dave (my trusty GPS), and headed off to the Krempels King of the Road Challenge! 

  Luckily, the rain stopped, and the fog just needed a little time to burn off. It was damp, and so that made me cold. I always have such a hard time deciding how much to wear. Jacket or just arm warmers? Leg warmers or bare legs? I was brave and went with arm warmers and bare legs. I had forgotten my padded gloves, and only had my wind-stopper gloves. That could be problematic, with my carpal tunnel. Then, I finally remembered to take some photos!

Rental car, rental bike

  We lined up (I always start at the back because I know most everyone else is faster than I am)

  Over the course of the morning, the fog lifted, the sun started peeking through the clouds, and I got hot. I stopped to take off my gloves and arm warmers, and a support vehicle stopped to make sure I was OK. "I'm fine." I said "Just stopping so I can strip." I think that comment surprised him. I thoroughly enjoyed my 30 mile ride. There was one place I wanted to stop and take a picture, but it was halfway up a hill, and I knew I'd have a hard time getting started again, so I had to skip it. A couple of hills had me breathing hard, but all in all, I felt good. Which is  pretty amazing considering I had only been on my bike one time since July!

Also amazing was the amount of chain grease I ended up with on my leg:

Yup, that tiny spot!

  Normally, when I finish a ride, I look like this:

Well, that ride was twice as long...

  

  But back to the story. After the ride, there was a lovely party. I ate a lot of really good pizza and met a lot of really nice people. I stayed around until they kicked us out of the parking lot. (When I ride with Mr. Grouchy Karl, we never get to stay and have any fun. Yet another reason I like traveling by myself.) But I think the highlight of the afternoon was when I introduced Flat Ted to 3-D Ted.

They got along swimmingly!

  Sadly, I had to return my super-fancy rental bike to the bike shop. I returned to my hotel for a shower only to find an invitation to lunch the next day. But that, my friends is a story for another day.

Winner, Winner, TV Dinner

  I seem to have good luck winning charity raffles. Over the last 10 years or so, we've won:

 A Radio Flyer wagon 

Ours says "State Farm Insurance" on the side

 A large framed mirror

Yes, that's our prom picture, aren't we cute?

A fancy tire pump

We still haven't figured out how to use it

A super fancy bike light

I have yet to use this one

And last night we got a very unexpected call from the nice lady with the Friends of the Library. We've won the Grand Prize. A 50 inch LCD HDTV television!

I hope we can find somewhere to put it!

So I guess we're hosting all Superbowl parties from now on.

Edited to add:
I forgot about the Hunter ceiling fan I won over the summer. It was a bit more trouble than we expected, a couple of parts were missing, we had to buy a light for it, and it didn't exactly fit on the hardware from our old fan...  Maybe I blocked it from my mind.