December 19, 2025
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Regardless of what you celebrate, I hope your home is full of warmth and good food this holiday season!
I have two gifts for you this year:
- A yummy family recipe that goes back years on my mom’s side (scroll down to check it out).
- A recipe that the Women’s Foundation made up special. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been itching for change, legislatively speaking, and we thought this secret recipe might do the trick. Here’s what you need:
Ingredients
360,000 WYOMINGITES (voting age preferred)
15 cups CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
9 quarts EDUCATION (our NEW voter accountability guide is a great help)
17 heaping cups TENACITY (may substitute with stick-to-it-ive-ness)
139 dollops LISTENING & CIVILITY (similar to Arm & Hammer, it will give rise to good stuff)
25 cups VOICE
1 trillion dashes of LOVE for Wyoming (no substitution available)
Directions:
Combine Wyomingites, engagement, and education until well mixed. At this stage in the recipe, voters may feel a bit frustrated but also raring to go knowing they have the ingredients to make change in Wyoming. Keep an eye on the mixture as we don’t want it to deflate.
Separately, knead the listening and tenacity. The mixture should be looking strong. Be sure to continue encouragement though.
Finally, fold in the voice and LOVE, and add it to the two other mixtures until well incorporated. Bake through 2026 (and check on it often). This recipe can be used year after year for change!
Other Important Info.
- We’re really excited to share our 2025 Session Review – A Voter Accountability Guide! The guide reviews a number of bills we tracked in the 2025 session and shows how legislators voted on each.
- We’ll be hosting another Financial Planning for Women virtual meet up on January 13th at noon. This one will be hosted by former board member, Kate Johnson! More details to come but you can register here.
- Joint Appropriations met to review Governor Gordon’s budget. They didn’t provide much insight as to what changes they might make, other than indicating cuts will need to be made. I’ll be watching closely and reporting back to you in January when the committee reconvenes.
And finally… (drum roll please)
Grandma Kathryn’s Elephant Ball Recipe (an inappropriately named holiday favorite)
Like the Women’s Foundation’s recipe, elephant balls are a labor of love, but well worth it:
Ingredients:
2 cups smooth peanut butter
4 tbl butter – melted
4 cups powdered sugar
4 cups Rice Krispies (or a knock-off brand)
5ish cups chocolate chips or chocolate almond bark (I don’t actually know the exact amount here. I just keep melting until all the balls are covered.
Directions:
In a large, plastic sealed bag, add the 6 cups of Krispies. Use a rolling pin, heavy pan, or the efforts of a kid who just wants to smush things by hand, smash the Krispies. I prefer to keep regular-sized Krispies along with the crumbs.
Set aside.
In a large bowl mix the peanut butter and butter until smooth. Then begin adding the powdered sugar slowly until well-mixed.
Add the Krispies and mix well.
Roll peanut butter mixture into balls and COOL for a bit.
Melt chocolate chips over a double broiler OR fill a pan about 1/2 full of water and sit an empty bowl that fits within the pot. Add the chocolate chips and heat the water. This will allow the chocolate chips to melt without burning.
Using a fork, roll each ball in the chocolate and remove to a lined piece of parchment or foil once covered and allow to cool. I like to chill them a bit.
Dig in!
