The New Year's Resolution

If you thought you were going to find out what my New Year's resolution is, sorry - I didn't make any this year.  I resolve occasionally  to try to do things better.  Sometimes after a great sermon, like the one Pastor Mike of Salem UCC, in Catasauqua did a few weeks back on Attitudes;  I resolved to have a better attitude at work.  However, like many resolutions, it is difficult to keep.  The pressure of deadlines, and attitudes of others, clients included can affect my way of thinking.  That's why resolutions are so hard.  We set high goals once a year and expect ourselves to meet them.  I rather work my way gradually to a goal, like eating better.  From years at Weight Watchers I really know how to eat better (I just don't always do it).  However, we eat less fried food and more vegetables and whole grains, but at Christmas some of that eating flies out the door.  I had also quit Weight Watchers in the beginning of November so I could have more money for Christmas Shopping; but, I will rejoin this Thursday, mainly because I am noisy and want to know what the new plan is all about.(I have to brace myself though, lots of people will be joining, just like lots of people go back to the gyms)   It will also help me and my family get back on a healthier eating track.

So where did New Year's Resolutions start?  Well, the ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.




The Romans began each year by making promises to the god  Janus, for whom the month of January is named.


In the Medieval era,  the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

 At the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of American adults formed New Year's resolutions. At the start of the 21st century, about 40% did.

So how successful are New Year's Resolutions?   A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study's participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

So, if you really want to make a New Year's Resolution, go ahead, share your goals and find the right support, and you are more likely to succeed.

In the meantime I have some Christmas candy and cookies to finish off before Thursday .......and that's another day in Catasauqua.

One of the best presents ever

Sometimes the smallest present can become one of the best presents ever.  Such as, the dough scraper.  Yes the handy and might dough scraper was given to me as a gift from my cousin Sandy.  She was working at Ace Hardware when they got them in and she immediately bought me one and one for herself. 

On Saturday I made one roll out recipe that I have from an Aunt of Annette's.  It's a good cookie, but sometimes it can be challenging to roll out.  This is where the dough scraper comes in handy.  From scooping up the cookie to putting it on the tray to cleaning off the board when dough gets stuck-- it is a super gadget.

In the picture you see both my grandmother's rolling pin and her bread board, as she called it, which I roll out my dough on.  It's funny, when I was small I thought both objects where huge. Time has made them smaller.

Making cookies is a long family tradition.  One that my cousin Sandy and I kept going.  I remember the one time, she brought tons of cookie sheets and we rolled and stacked and roll and stacked and then baked, we practically looked professional. Ah the good times.  This year we almost lost her, and as I rolled out the cookies and scraped the dough I thought constantly of her.  It is funny how something so small can hold so many memories.

Here is wishing you many merry memories this holiday season. 

and that's another day in Catasauqua.

My Grandmother's Cookie Recipe

Every year my Grandmother baked tons of cookies and stored them is really large cans and gave them as gifts during the holidays. I still carry on that tradition.  When she passed away a few years ago I was given her cook book where she wrote her recipes in. 

First let me tell you that the book is actually an account book which was to be used as a cash or day book journal.  So I find humor in that fact that she wrote in the front cover.  These are all very good receipts (instead of the word recipe)  She then wrote "This is grand-daughter Beverly receipt book after me."  HOWEVER, when she was mad at me once, she erased my name out of the book, then put someone else in, then erased them and put me back in.  Ah....fond family memories.

Anyway some of these receipts, oops recipes are really old, and sometimes use ingredients that I am not sure about.  A great example is the following recipe for - as she wrote it - A piece Christmas Cookies.  Actually Apees cookies are a cookie from the Philadelphia area and are of German, or Pennsylvania Dutch origins. 

So here it is:

1 cup of butter and 1 cup of Lard
2 lbs of Sugar
1 Large Can of Everyday Milk
2 teaspoons of soda
4 eggs
Pinch of salt, add flour to roll (which turns out to be a 5 pound bag roughly)   This must be rolled out and cut with cookie cutter.  Makes  1/2 to 1 can of cookies.

Let me tell you about the cans she used, they were huge potato chip cans (I still have one in the basement)  It makes a ton of cookies.  What I like about them, besides the taste is that they are easy to roll.  They make a thick cut out - they puff a little while baking.

Well all my cookies are packed up and ready to give away, but there are also some saved for Christmas Morning.  Plus I have one more batch to bake, chocolate chip that I will make Christmas Eve morning, for some reason we go through them fast.  Well, that's.....another day in Catasauqua.

Cookies, Cookies and more Cookies

I love to make cookies at Christmas.  It's practically a winter hobby.  Everyone has their favorites.  Parke loves my Chocolate Chips.  A few of my friends from Church and I love the famous "Better than Sex Cookies" which are white chocolate macadamia nut.  Missy, my daughter-in-law's sister likes chocolate with peanut butter chips. 

I just got done making up my own recipe for a new cookie.  This was something my Grandmother did a lot, but it's a first for me.  I haven't named the cookie yet, but it is a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and then I dipped them in chocolate!  I haven't tasted them yet, they are cooling, so I don't even know if they are worthy of naming yet.  But if they are I  will have to remember to write the recipe down.

So here's what I made tons of Chocolate Chip cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, Shortbreads, 2 different kinds of roll outs -  WAIT -SIDE NOTE - I just ate the chocolate chocolate cookie (before dipping it into the extra chocolate), OMG - its good - Parke says it doesn't even need the extra chocolate - but I said I wanted to make this one an event - not just a cookie.  Later I will try the cookie with the extra chocolate.

Any way where was I - oh yes, Peppermint Crunch cookies, Sugar Cookies. the Better than Sex Cookies, Chocolate with Peanut Butter Chips, Snickerdoodles,  and Forgotten Cookies. 

Well - time for me to finish up, and then to start packing up cookies for gifts.  If you are on my list, you'll be getting some, and if not......that's another day in Catasauqua

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas

I have been trying to get a moment to write for days, but it seems there is always something to do at this time of the year.  For only the 2nd time in 33 years did I have off on Black Friday.  First I was low man on the totem pole and later, we were busy or someone else took the day off.  It is not that I want to shop, but I want to start decorating.

I tried to be "cute" and post of facebook as I brought down my totes last week that hold my Christmas stuff, but somewhere around 8 I started to fizzle.  Truth be told I have 15 totes that hold my Christmas decorations, Christmas Plates, my Christmas socks and yes, even Christmas Pajamas.  It took Friday, Saturday and Sunday to finish decorating.  Nothing is untouched by Christmas around here.  From the Advent Candle ring to the Village on top of my piano Christmas is in every corner.

Christmas has been popping up all over Catasauqua to!  From decorations and lights to North Catasauqua's Tree Lighting last week (my favorite part is the hot chocolate, boy could I use a cup of that now)  and Catasauqua's Tree Lighting tonight.  We had breakfast with Santa yesterday at Salem UCC and there are still a lot of events to come all over town.

Well, it's time for me to clean up from baking, so back to work, maybe I'll save you a cookie and with that.....it's another day in Catasauqua.