Betty

Just wanted to wish all you March bbs out there the Happiest Birthday yet! We have 2 birthdays in Riverdale this month and – as always – I could use some gift suggestions because BOTH of these ladies are kinda hard to buy for. Riverdale’s March bday babies include:

Veronica on the 19^th

Ms. Grundy on the 30^th

See what I mean about birthday gifts? They both have EVERYTHING!

So, how many of YOU are March babies???

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

Hi bbs! It’s March – you know what that means – time to do another Top 10 List! I’m listing the 10 of the things I’m looking forward to this month. Here goes:

10 Things I’m Looking Forward To In March

SPRING!!!! It arrives on the 20^th.

Daylight Savings Time – starts on the 9^th. That means more sun after school. Woo Hoo!

Listening to the frogs at night. Soon it will be warm enough for them to come out and sing again!

Ronnie’s Birthday. It’s on the 19^th, but we usually celebrate all week long.

No more winter clothes. We can pack them away until next fall.

Easter! This year it’s on March 23^rd.

Ms. Grundy’s birthday. She brings cupcakes for all her classes on her birthday. It’s a tradition; she does it every year.

The Riverdale High Spring Musical. I don’t know what it will be this year, but tryouts will be held the end of the month.

St. Patrick’s Day! Its 2 day’s before Ronnie’s birthday. Boy, that’s gonna be a busy week.

After March, there are only 2 more months of school left!

That’s my list. Time to make one of your own. Love reading those lists!

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

BUMMER! Just when I was ready to pack away all my sweaters, Old Man Winter came back with a vengeance! It’s COLD here. Brrrrrrrrrr! AND the weather dude said we’re supposed to get a FOOT of SNOW tonight! Can you believe it? Yesterday, it was 75 degrees!

I usually don’t complain about the weather because, well, what good does THAT do? But this news is just BAD. I’m tired of winter. So tell me, is it still cold where you live? Oh, and if you have any new winter storm survival tips to keep boredom away, I could use those too! Thanks :)

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

The snow is melting – finally! Now I can turn my attention to other, more important things. Like Veronica’s Birthday! It’s exactly 2 weeks from today and I still haven’t gotten her a gift.

I talked to Mr. Lodge and I know what he’s doing for her birthday. She’s gonna luv it! (Ronnie will drive me crazy when she finds out I already know and she doesn’t – but that’s part of the fun.)

Midge and Nancy talked to me today too. They had an idea for her birthday which was awesome! Now, I just have to coordinate so all these birthday plans don’t run into each other.

Hey, maybe I could have a career as an “Event Co-ordinator.” What do ya think?

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

Well, bbs, we are one week closer to Summer! Woo Hoo! This was a looooooong week at school and, you know, we did miss some days because of the snow so I figured there would be no Spring break this year. But –

TODAY MR. BEE ANNOUNCED WE’RE GETTING A WHOLE WEEK OFF!

I am SO happy! You know what? We’ll be off for Ronnie’s birthday! Thanks for all the suggestions, btw. You had some really great ones. Ronnie’s spending the night tonight, so we’ll talk some more about it. We’re also gonna color Easter eggs.

Hey, what are YOU doing this weekend? Any big plans? And are you getting a Spring break this year?

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

I’m in “Easter baking mode” this weekend. Ronnie and I colored eggs last night, then I made 2 batches of Easter Egg cookies. Then Dad stuck his head in the kitchen and said, “Bets, are you gonna make a Carrot Cake this year?” Well, how could I say “no” to that request?!

Here’s my favorite recipe for Carrot Cake. This one is from Tammy Elliott. You’ll probably need a grown up to help. Lmk how you like it!

Xoxoxoxo

Bets

Yummy Carrot Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 4 eggs

• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

• 2 cups white sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 3 cups grated carrots

• 1 cup chopped pecans  

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

Ronnie and I decided to go the mall today and get our picture taken with the Easter Bunny; we haven’t done that in years. So, we stood in line with a bunch of little kids for about an hour. When it was finally our turn, we walked up to the bunny – he was the biggest Easter Bunny I’ve ever seen!

And he said, “Hello Betty and Veronica!” The Easter Bunny knew our names! Do you know who was inside the rabbit suit? Moose!

Moose, a bunny! Isn’t that wild!?! He told us what the guys are doing this weekend. Isn’t that sweet? The guys at Riverdale High are the best in the world!

When we went by a couple of hours later, the Easter Bunny was much much smaller; the poor rabbit looked kinda deflated. We saw Midge and Moose in the food court. Moose’s shift was over. You know who took his place? Dilton! LOL

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

P.S. I almost forgot -The time changed last night. We get a whole extra hour of daylight! Yippee! Get out there and enjoy that extra hour :)

Hi bbs! Sorry I haven’t posted in a couple days. I’ve been busy babysitting after school for a new family that just moved in down the street. My mom “volunteered” me to watch the kids while they get all their stuff unloaded and organized.

I used to babysit a lot, but not so much since I started running and playing softball. I forgot how much energy it takes! This family has 3 kids – a 7 year old boy, a 5 year old girl and a toddler. They also have a dog, (which I didn’t have to watch.)

What have I missed? Anything special going on? LMK – I’m gonna go read my comments.

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

It’s Friday. Know what that means? Spring break begins TODAY!!!! Gotta big week planned. Ronnie will be by in a little bit to pick me up. Then we’re off to New York! I’m so glad we’re driving this year – in the Lodge limo, no less – so we’re not exactly roughing it. LOL I have a whole list of places I want to see next week – Times Square, Broadway, the Empire State Building. I hope we don’t spend ALL our time shopping, but I’m with Ronnie and it IS her birthday, so I know I’ll be spending a major part of every day in some sort of high end retail establishment. J We’ll be posting from New York next week, so stay tuned. Xoxoxoxo Betty

By the time you read this we’ll be on the road to New York! You KNOW how I’m going to spend my Spring Break. So I want to know if YOU: ·        Are getting a Spring Break this year?·        What are you doing? LMK! Can’t wait to read your comments – Xoxoxoxo Bets

Hi bbs. As I write this post I am looking out over Manhattan from the window of our hotel. It is FABULOUS here! Sooooo much to do – and it’s not ALL shopping either! Mrs. Lodge has seen to that ;-)

Ronnie is really in her element; you should see her! Ronnie in Manhattan is like a fish in water – perfectly at home. Me? I DO like all the excitement, but so far I haven’t found a single scrapbook store. I know they have them here; I’m just not looking in the right places. It gets a little confusing in all this traffic.

Reggie called last night. Said he had a surprise for Ronnie and wanted to know our room number. I think he’s sending flowers for her bday. (It’s tomorrow, you know.)

Gotta run. We’re going to dinner and then to a show! I hope YOU are having a great week – whether you’re on Spring Break or in school!

Xoxoxoxo

Bets

You won’t BELIEVE what Reggie’s big birthday surprise was. What am I saying? Yes you will – you probably knew about it before WE did! LOL (I saw Patty’s post… but not until last night. You could say we “missed the memo.”)

Bright and early yesterday morning – BEFORE Veronica and I even had a chance to put on our makeup – there was a knock at the door. Veronica thought it was Room Service, so she opened it. There, standing in the hall, grinning from ear to ear was Reggie. And Archie. And Jughead!!!

You should have heard us scream! We both ran to the bathroom and slammed the door; Veronica nearly knocked me down trying to get there first! The guys got a big laugh out of it.

Veronica’s mom (who was in the suite adjoining ours) heard all the commotion and ran in – in her dressing gown. She was just as surprised to see them as we were – but she didn’t scream. She’s older and has more class. She just shooed them down to the hotel restaurant and told them we’d come down when we were good and ready.

At first, I thought the guys would ruin our whole week – but it’s been FUN! Jughead and Archie go with me to the places I want to go – and Reggie shops with Veronica and her mom!

We only have 2 more days of Spring Break left; we’re driving back to Riverdale Sunday night. But until then, I intend to see every square inch of New York City!

Xoxoxoxo

Bets

P.S. Happy Spring! (I told you it would get here!)

I’m takin’ a break from my sightseeing to take a quick Easter poll. Since this Easter is NOT traditional for me, I wanted to know if any of you are carrying on my favorite traditions. LMK if YOU:

1. Colored Easter Eggs.

1. Made an Easter Egg tree.

1. Are going on/or have already been on an Easter Egg hunt.

I missed doing all those things this year. Can’t wait to read your comments!

Xoxoxoxo

Betty

Hi bbs! We are back in Riverdale, back in school, and back to doing homework. :o(  I’ve discovered that’s Rule #1 in my Book of Inevitable Rules for Life. There will ALWAYS be homework. More about that in a minute.

So, did anything exciting happen while we were gone? Well, let’s see. Midge dyed her hair. It was an experiment. She tried to go blonde, but ended up grass green, so she spent 2 days at the Riverdale salon. The color specialists there did a great job restoring her “before” color – but she still has a greenish glow if the light catches her just right.

Mr. Bee started a new fitness regimen. This morning he started walking to school. Ms. Grundy got worried when he still wasn’t here at 9:30, so she sent Jughead and Moose out to look for him. He’d only gone about a mile and was sitting by the side of the road. He insisted on walking though, so they gave him a bottle of water and drove back to school. Ms. Grundy sent a student out every half hour to check on him and keep him company. He finally arrived at Riverdale High about a half hour after lunch. I don’t think he’ll be walking to school any more. LOL

So, back to my book. This is the kick-off of our annual literary project. This year, Ms. Grundy has given us a fun assignment: Each student is to write a book. It doesn’t have to be a long book. It can be fiction or non-fiction. It can be funny or not. The goal of our project is to write a book for kids – ages 8-12, so it should be something they would like to read.

I decided to write a book called Betty’s Book of Inevitable Rules for Life. It’s non-fiction. (I like writing so much, I might write a fiction title, too!) In it, I am listing stuff – important stuff – kids should know before they become teenagers.

Rule #1 is: There will ALWAYS be homework.

Rule #2 is: Boys are weird. Get used to it.

Rule #3 is: Its okay, boys don’t get us either – even if they say they do.

If you have a rule you would like to suggest, send it to me! I might just include it to my book.

Happy Tuesday!

Xoxoxoxox

Betty

WOW!!! You guys are sending me THE BEST rules to include in my book! I LOL when I read Emmy’s rule! “There will always be a Reggie SOMEWHERE in your life.” How True!!! Keep sending me those rules!

Got another question for ya. You know, I’m going to write another book when I finish this one (should only take me a few more days.) This time, I want to write fiction. Problem: I don’t know what KIND of fiction to write!

Do You like: Scary stories? Horse stories? Stories about school friends? Mysteries? I need some input here. Tell me what you like to read!

I’ll be waitin’ by the computer :)

Xoxoxoxo

Bets

Boy, I wanted to hug Blackcat when I read this comment:

Dear B&V,

My mother and older sister and i got in a fight today because of my sisters treasures being stolen. I thought about running away but i only got as far as my junior high school. When i finally got back, my sister was moving out. Betty and veronica... i feel so bad for making my sister leave. What should i do?

Blackcat.

Blackcat – first of all, I hope things are much better now. Usually time does help :) Congrats to all the bbs for giving Blackcat such good advice! (((((BBHugs))))))

Blackcat brings up a very good point: How do you handle conflict? I thought a lot about this one. I get lots of practice with Ronnie. Sometimes we work through things really well; sometimes, I forget my own rules and then it takes forever to work things out!

These are the 3 things I try to remember:

1. TALK. Don’t yell. Yelling and the melodrama that goes with it only belong on Jerry Springer.

2. LISTEN to what the other person is saying. People don’t listen when they get mad, they just yell their own stuff at each other. Don’t do that.

3. Be HONEST. If you aren’t honest, you really won’t work anything out, and you’ll just end up mad again – and confused because you thought you had it worked out!

I hope this helps. Like I said, I’ve had a lot of practice at this. I sure don’t have Solving Conflicts mastered, but when I remember to do these 3 things, the conflict passes really fast!

Xoxoxoxo

Bets

I know – two in a row! But I just had to answer this question from Lilli:

I have A LOT of writers block when i try to write. I'm an aspiring author. I have a creative writing assignment too and have NO IDEAS. i really want to write a story. any thoughts guys? lilli

Lilli – I hear ya! I’m kinda in the middle of a writer’s block myself with the fiction book I want to write. I talked to Ms. Grundy about it – cause she knows all about writing – and she told me she doesn’t believe in Writer’s Block. “Funny,” she said, “I’ve never heard of Baseball Block or Singer’s Block or Shopping Block.” (Veronica couldn’t survive that one. LOL)

Your brain (and your confidence) just needs a little kick start – like when I’m off my baseball game I need to practice, usually go back to the basics.

This is your assignment, Lilli. Get a paper and pencil – NOT your computer – and set a timer for 10 minutes, not one minute more. (It could be an egg timer or the timer on the stove or one on your watch) Make sure the timer is away from you so when it goes off, you have to get up and walk across the room to turn it off. (Your mind needs to know it only has to focus for 10 minutes, that way.)

Write like crazy for that 10 minutes. Don’t think. Don’t edit. Just write. When the timer goes off, get up and go set it for 10 more minutes and do it again.

I only had to do that 3 times. Then my mind was off and running so fast I couldn’t keep up! Just remember this little egg timer trick any time you have a writing project you just can’t get going on.

It really works!

As for your writing assignment topic – that’s a good one for the BBs to help you with. How about it? Got any topic ideas for Lilli?

Xoxoxoxo

Bets