12th

Annual

Lee

Lake

Polar

Bear

Plunge

for

Cancer

Proceeds

benefit

and

G.R.A.C.E

(Greater

Richland

Area

Cancer

Elimination)

and

American

Cancer

Society

 

Saturday

 February 25, 2012

 

Lee Lake

Cazenovia, WI

For more information please

contact  
                                
Laura at

608.415.1044  
                                                       
Teri at 608.983.2397

Auction

12 PM

Plunge

2 PM

Food and Refreshments

Raffles

Many of us have heard about the recent coronation of  Miss USA, our own Laura Kaeppeler. As pumped as we are at Hybrid Redneck about that, we are even more excited about this:

What has not been as well publicized is that two of our own Hybrid Redneck supporter's daughters have been nationally,,,yes, I said NATIONALLY,,,,(it sounds sooo much more important if I type it in capitol letters),,,,, recognized as Miss USA Groundhog 2012, and Miss Teen USA Groundhog 2012.....huh,,,,,...ok,,,,we haven't received release from either one of those organizations yet?

Well, we just have to share at least one of the coronation pictures from the very lavish ceremony that was held in Punxatony, PA. Ladies and Gentlemen,,I give you, Miss Groundhog USA,,,,,and Miss Teen Groundhog USA....!!!




Word has it that by February 18,,,all of the legal wranglings will be easily settled and we will be able to honor our own Richland County honoree's at the Screamin Half-Mile like royalty.....please join us there to give them a proper Richland County welcome.

Are there other things that give you the same unbridled joy as a Christmas morning when you were 10? You remember, when you came down the stairs to the Christmas tree and saw wrapped presents, just the size of that race car track, or football uniform, or Easy-Bake Oven, or whatever gift you had coveted that Christmas. You know, the feeling that you have gotten when you might have shot that 16-point buck that all of the neighbors were talking about and everyone was scheming to shoot, or working on a motor vehicle engine, not really having the confidence that the fix you were applying would work but finally turning the key and having the motor come to life just like you were non-confidently hoping it would?

****Speaking of the Easy-Bake Oven,,,,a disclaimer here,,,do not use a 100 watt lightbulb. Yes, the heating method on an Easy-Bake is by lightbulb. However, I tell you from experience, as much as it might seem like a great idea to jump up from that slow, low heat, 35 watt bulb the manufacturer recommends to a 100 watt bulb, this is not a good idea.  The main problem is that all of the baked items your child is making for you tends to have this plastic drizzzle on them that really doesn't help the taste.****

Well here at Hybrid Redneck, we spent the last month questioning if we would ever have that feeling again. We have been watching the thermometer wondering if we had to move to Oklahoma to get into cold enough temperatures to actually go snowmobiling, we also had gotten into the habit of hitting the mute button when CNN would go on about how tough the winter was in Nome, Alaska (with having an early onset to the winter and having to send icebreakers to allow shipments of heating oil to get to the city).  In the first couple of weeks of January we saw the thermometer hit 50 degrees a couple of days and wondered if we should just start up the Richland County Camel Racing Circuit a little earlier this year.

However, we finally got that shot of excitement and pure joy on Wednesday morning when we woke up to a thermometer that had dropped about 25 degrees in less than 24 hours and a steady snowfall had started. We were even more excited to see that the extended forecast calls for much more typical January and February temperatures, instead of the Texas-winter-like temperatures we had been experiencing. Even the "Old Farmers Almanac" is calling for the time frame from Febuary 8-18 to have regular snow showers and cold with the month of February having below normal temperatures. (And if you were wondering,,,yes, the Almanac called for a much higher than normal temperature in January.)

Temperature and Precipitation November 2011 to October 2012

*http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/region/us/10


What this means is several things, not the least of which is gearing up for the February 18, Screaming Half-Mile at the Richland Center Fairgrounds. Preparation is under way, and some of the fastest snowmobiles on ice will compete on the half-mile at the Fairgrounds. You can plan on a heated concession area and everyone's favorite, fireworks at dusk. We will offer more details as the date gets closer, but here is your chance to go see some of the most exciting racing the Fairgrounds has ever offered. I encourage you to take this opportunity to celebrate winter and join us on February 18.

STAY TUNED!!!!!!!!!!!

The recent snowfall we received this past week starts to bring us mentally into the Christmas season. With the Christmas season comes a whole new set of joys, challenges, and family gatherings. As has become the habit for Hybrid Redneck (H.R.) we want to help out all who seek help, no matter what the season, so following are some suggestions for navigating the challenges that will follow in the next few weeks:

We have heard from other H.R. followers of some Christmas gift-giving disasters such as a husband who gave his spouse a coffee-maker for Christmas, she didn't drink coffee, but he did. There are several misguided occurrences of husbands giving their wives exercise equipment for Christmas,,,even if they ask for it, don't do it! (This is the classic fail for many spouses,,,yes they may suggest that they would like a treadmill, or excersize bike for Christmas,,,but DON'T DO IT! It is a trap,,,,just like when they ask you how any garment fits them.)

Below are a couple ill-advised gifts that we encourage you stay away from giving this season:


The Off-Road Toilet
Who can do without the padded, off-road, toilet seat? The good news, it is camo covered so that you can avoid detection by any enemies you may want to be able to do business in front of, but yet avoid detection.



Nose Gel Dispenser
Back in college this might have been kind of cool, but in the last 20 years, if I gave this as a gift to my spouse, I strongly suspect we would not have made it over the 20 year mark. The good news, if you spend an additional $18 for this gift you also get 150 ml of they snotty green shower gel pictured in use above.

So, these are a couple of suggestions of what not to do,,,so what to do?
1. Remember, don't buy a gift for that special someone that means more to you, than it does to them.

2. Hopefully you have been paying attention to little suggestions and comments your special someone has been dropping over the past 6 months. They have told you what they really want, but did you notice?

3. Don't think there is any shame in asking the kids, parents, or close friends for help. If you miss the mark it is very convenient to be able to shift the blame to someone else who should know better as well.

4. Stay away from fad's or items only offered on TV. Pet rocks, Snuggies, Chia Pets, and Pocket Fishermen might have seemed like great gift giving ideas at some point, but they are not.

With these little suggestions in mind we wish you well in your quest to find that perfect gift, for your special someone. Also, we would love to hear of any Christmas present disasters you may have received, or given, in the past. Please feel free to share as it always makes us feel better when we learn of others that have made the same mistakes we have. 

Merry Christmas to all, from all of us at Hybrid Redneck

The good news,,,Hybrid Redneck survived Thanksgiving, no injuries, no trips to the Emergency Room and no family squabbles that can't be fixed before Christmas. We have finished off the turkey soup, turkey hash, turkey ala king, turkey omlette, and even the turkey torte, (turkey torte may not sound appetizing, and you are correct it is much worse than you can even imagine,,,think white meat with whipped cream and graham cracker crust,,,,but we eat it 'cause old Aunt Mary always tells us how back "when times were tough" she ate it and "liked it dang it"). If "Old Aunt Mary" thinks things aren't tough now then she needs to look around a little bit.

The bad news, we are getting all revved up to do it again with Christmas approaching. While we were just coming out of our turkey coma on Friday morning the folks with Hybrid Redneck had one eye on the TV news talking all about Black Friday and the crazy behavior of shoppers. We have never engaged in Black Friday shopping, we haven't even gotten too excited about Cyber Monday shopping that is proclaimed to be the biggest internet shopping day of the year. Honestly, we are waiting for Free Beer Wednesday,,,now that is something we could get behind, or No Tolerance Thursday,,,,you know the day in which we wouldn't have to bite our tongue in response to co-worker or family member verbal idiocy. Now that would be a day worth getting excited about,,,ok,,,where was I,,,yeah, the oncoming Christmas season.

Here at Hybrid Redneck we are getting ready to decorate for Christmas, unfortunately the Town Board made us take down our lights from last year back in May or we would already be done. (Something about frayed cords and broken lights creating a fire hazard,,,I don't know I quit listening to the Town Board Chairman drone on about it when I got a shock trying to pull out a staple that was driven right into both wires on the lights) So,,,I guess I better get back at it if I want to be done before the post-Christmas sales, which by the way is the best time to shop for Christmas presents,,,,huge savings, much fewer choices, makes for a very quick and painless experience, for the shopper anyway.

From all of us at Hybrid Redneck,,,Happy Christmas Decorating!

I don't know about you but we are getting pumped for the Thanksgiving Holiday on Thursday, and all of the other activities with the weekend. It is truly fun getting to spend time with family (yes even Cousin Eddy, and no your family is not any more dysfunctional than the next, they all have their issues some just hide it better), deer hunting, watching football, and eating way too much food. In the past, Hybrid Redneck has experienced some real Thanksgiving victories, blow-ups, and near-misses.

I can clearly recall the first year we deep-fried a turkey, we really didn't know what the heck we were doing and it was several years before major insurance companies started spending money on TV commercials to warn us of the possible damage to real property associated with guys who didn't know what they were doing.  The good news is that we were able to turn the gas off quickly and we had easy access to fire extinguishers that worked well on oil.



The picture above is not a result of our "incident" however, insurance companies have files full of pictures just like this one. Here are some helpful hints to prevent you from having the same issues we did:
 
#1. Make sure said turkey is completely defrosted.
#2 Put the turkey in the pot prior to frying, fill the pot up with water so it covers the turkey leaving at least 3-4 inches from the top of the pot. Then remove turkey and mark the pot where the water line is, this is how full you should fill the pot with oil and avoid an uncontrolled burn. (If you can't cover the turkey with water and leave room to the top of the pot, then much like us the first year, you bought the biggest bird you could find to assert your manhood,,,this is absolutely not the time to do this, get a turkey that fits your pot). 
#3 Do not deep fry turkeys on decks, in garages, next to your home, or within 20-30 feet of any other structure that you value.
#4 Don't hit the PBR until the turkey is at least half done. Others will suggest that you wait until you are completely done. However, this is half of the fun, standing around a boiling pot of oil, with open flame, chatting about the Packers, your tractor pull victories the past year, the big buck you knocked down opening day,,,etc...while preparing food for your family.

If you follow these easy steps, your turkey preparation ability will suddenly become the toast of your family and neighborhood. Now that we have learned our lesson, the rest of the family looks forward to deep-fried turkey, my insurance company hasn't sent me a nasty-gram, and the dog is much more relaxed on Thanksgiving day.

Take care and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Screaming Half Mile Block of Rooms
Ramada
1450 Veterans Drive
Richland Center, WI 53581
(608) 647-8869

Plenty of Parking for haulers!

Country Kitchen Restaurant and
Dewey's Dugout Bar in the hotel. 

$82.00 per night, they are holding
 the block till Jan 17th, 2012. 

Ramada and the Center Lodge 608-647-8988
 both have trail access to the fairgrounds.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho..........................she said Hi Back :-)

Dear William Gohlston,, Thank you for the help, you know, getting suspended for the Wisconsin game. Really, a facemask twist in the bottom of the pile and a punch to a lineman wearing his helmet??? Class, and smarts, all of the way.