Do you remember cakewalks? If you don't, here's a quick refresher on how to play the game: music plays while people walk along a numbered path and when the music stops, a number is drawn — the person standing on that number wins a cake.

This time-honored tradition of carnivals, fundraisers and holiday parties seems to be making a comeback just in time for Christmas. I've been "invited" to bake cakes for a few cakewalks already.

There's a modern twist, though. Today's bakers don't have to make traditional cakes. We can make cupcakes, pies, cakes and other goodies. The are only 3 rules:

1. The prizes must be baked. 
2. They have to be super sweet. 
3. And sure-fire diet-busters. 

Well, I made up rule #3.  But that's what I'm shooting for with my goodies. No need to fret about your diet, though. The best thing about the classic cakewalk? You walk off lots of calories just trying to win a tasty prize!

Remember when you were a kid and you'd get a new coloring book? To me there was nothing better. Except maybe a brand new box of crayons, with their perfectly molded tips not yet dulled by the paper and their colored labels not yet torn off for sharpening. I always hoped I could make something my parents would want to hang on the refrigerator. Or something Dad might want to put on his desk.

But I wasn't so good at coloring inside the lines. And my color choices were sometimes...let's call them "creative". Still, my parents cherished the pages I carefully removed from the book and proudly presented to them. Some of my best memories are seeing my imperfect creations hanging on the fridge or taped to the wall in the den.

So when I discovered Colorama coloring books made especially for adults, I was over the moon happy. Though I've traded my crayons for sharper colored pencils, I still have some trouble staying inside the lines. And my color choices are intentionally creative these days. But I still hang my best work on the refrigerator for all to see.

On November 15, 1956 Elvis Presley made his movie debut in Love Me Tender. It seems impossibly long ago...and just like yesterday at the same time. No one had ever seen such a huge presence on the big screen. The way I remember it, he was bigger than anyone else on the screen. His presence completely filled the theater — until you could barely even recognize that there were actually other actors in the movie.

Of course, I was younger then. Wide-eyed and crushing on the crooner, I admit I might be a biased critic. But, as the movie turns 59 years old this year, I can share a few things about Love Me Tender that make it a stand-out among all of Elvis' films:

• It's one of the very few movies where Elvis doesn't get the girl.
• He sang only four songs.
• It was the only time he ever played a historical figure. 
• He was not the star of the film.
• It was the first and last time Elvis didn't receive top billing.

In case you haven't seen it, I won't tell you why Elvis doesn't get the girl. (Hint: it's very sad.) If you have seen it, you know why. And you also know why you the 59th anniversary of Elvis's debut film is the perfect excuse to curl up with a cozy throw in your favorite Elvis t-shirt and watch it again. And again.

When I was growing up, our family used to sit down to eat a home-cooked meal together every night. It's not like that anymore. I don't know if it's because of premade microwave dinners and fast food or because modern life is so hectic that it's hard even to get the entire family in the same room at the same time. But I still try to make sure my family eats well, even when we're all busy. And there's nothing like a good, old-fashioned cookbook to help you when you're low on ingredients or out of ideas.

Betty Crocker's Cookbook shaped the dinner tables of generations of families. My mom gave me her copy when I moved into my own apartment and I think I might have starved without it. It had been well-used then, but now it's really falling apart. The pages are yellowed and stained with decades of spills and smudges. Though I eventually had to get a new one, I'll never get rid of the copy my Mom passed down to me.

All this talk of food is making me hungry. I think I'll go whip up a nice big batch of my famous macaroni & cheese for dinner. With real cheese. It's the one thing that's sure to bring the whole family running to the table — all at once.

Prime time TV sure has changed a lot. Today it's mostly detective and reality shows, but there was a time when the sitcom was the undisputed king of the airwaves. I remember watching back-to-back episodes of side-splitting comedy until the news came on, which wasn't nearly so entertaining. But by then, it was time for bed anyway.

"The Partridge Family" was one of the highest rated sitcoms on television in the '70s and it was one of my hands-down favorites. The show had tons of music, lots of laughs, that great big, brightly painted tour bus...and dreamy David Cassidy. This year the show celebrated its 45th anniversary. As popular as it was, there are some things you might not know about the classic sitcom:

• Shirley Jones could have played Carol Brady on "The Brady Bunch", but she turned down the role, saying she didn't want to do all of her scenes "in the kitchen making sandwiches".
• The show had some very famous guest stars including Mark Hamill (pre-Luke Skywalker), Meredith Baxter (pre-"Family Ties"), Richard Pryor, Dick Clark, Farrah Fawcett and Jodie Foster (pre-Taxi Driver).
• If the Partridge Family house looks familiar, it should. The whole block was used in filming back then. "I Dream of Jeannie", "Dennis the Menace" and "The Donna Reed Show" were among the sitcoms filmed there, so the house was frequently seen on television. But most notably, it was also the Kravitzes house on "Bewitched" and you could often see the Stevens' house in the background as the Partridge family bus drove by.

Thanks newly-released full series DVDs, you can still capture the glory days of television sitcoms. While you're at it, don't forget to look for your favorite TV houses on the iconic block that played home to so many great laughs.

Who doesn't remember watching the old "Batman" series on television? I never missed an episode! It didn't matter that every story line followed the exact same formula: The evil villain would commit a crime, Commissioner Gordon would use the Batphone to summon Batman and Robin.

Then it was "To the Batpoles!" and down to the Batcave, where they would jump into the Batmobile and race off to save Gotham from one of their arch enemies. There was always a confrontation with the villain and sometimes one of them would get captured and put in some kind of a contraption designed to--eventually--kill them. Those cliffhanger episodes were my favorites!

Batman has changed over the years, from his costumes to his history, but the story premise remains the same. And while I love the new movies (and I can't wait for Batman vs Superman) it's still tons of suspenseful, campy fun to watch those old episodes on television — at the same Bat Time on the same Bat Channel!

We have more high-tech, space age gadgets in our pockets and purses than the creators of the Sci-Fi classic "Star Trek" ever imagined. The franchise turns 50 next year, and yes, the parties, conventions, and out-of-this-world celebrations are already in the works.

So as we prepare for "Star Trek's" Big 5-0, let's remember some of the things we loved about rushing home after school to park ourselves in front of the TV for the latest episode in the original series:

• Tribbles. And more tribbles.
• Spock’s brain.
• God-like non-corporeal aliens passing judgment on humanity.
• KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
• Transporters. (Did you know "Beam me up, Scotty" was never actually said onscreen?)
• All of Dr. McCoy's painless and non-invasive medical treatments. 
• The first interracial kiss ever shown on television - and how it became a part of television and American history. 

Yes, we remember the cheesy special effects, the wobbly sets, the over-the-top over-overacting. But remember, the producers were struggling with a very low budget. Yet they still managed to create a science fiction experience that lives on today.

And even though we don't have molecular transport or interstellar travel mastered yet, we have to give the show some credit for inspiring some of the technology we take for granted in every day life. Like cell phones (communicator) and MRIs (tricorder).

If the last half a century is any indication, the next fifty years of "Star Trek" will continue to entertain, inspire and give birth to new technology.  I can't wait to see what they will come up with and what will mean to the "real" world.