Christmas: My Favorite Holiday

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you! I’m back today after a hectic week of writing, kid appointments, and oh yeah, my oldest was sick this week which kind of throws us all in a tizzy. But we all made it to Sunday.  Phew!

I’ve been working hard on my latest revision and I’m loving how it’s coming together. 🙂 Don’t you just love it when it all clicks? It’s an awesome feeling. That’s why this post is so late because I wanted to finish the scene I’ve been working on.

Photo credit: Nicola since 1972 via Visual hunt / CC BY

You know how it goes.

Today, I’d like to talk about my favorite holiday. That’s right Christmas is my favorite. It always has been and it always will be. I love getting together with family and friends. It’s such an awesome time of year for these occasions. We had a family get together last night with my mother’s side of the family and it was so great to see everyone. I haven’t seen most of my relatives since my cousin’s wedding and that was in July.

Photo via CJ via Visualhunt

I know a lot of people dread the holidays because there are long standing differences of opinions about politics and social issues. These differences can create a division in your family. Don’t let them divide you so much that you can’t enjoy your time together.

None of us knows how long we’re going to be here so let’s enjoy as many moments as we can this holiday season. If your family argues about politics then don’t talk about politics this Christmas. I’m sure there are many other things of interest to talk about. For example, the last movie you saw, or your favorite sit-coms. There are literally millions of less volatile subjects to discuss.

I love all the traditions that Christmas brings with it. Shopping for gifts, decorating the tree, hanging stockings, and driving through neighborhoods and checking out all the Christmas lights. It’s such a joyous holiday.

Photo credit: JMS2 via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC

This Christmas I’m full of gratitude for my family and my health. I feel like I’m one hundred percent back. My hair has grown in and I’m feeling strong. So this Christmas put all those differences aside and  enjoy your family while you can. Kids grow so fast and we all are growing older so squeeze as much joy out of this life as you can. You won’t regret it. I promise.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. I’d love to hear your thoughts about your favorite holiday. What are some of your family traditions that you love? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

My Favorite Dessert: A Slice of Life Post

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today with another Slice of Life Post and I thought I’d share my favorite dessert with you.  The holidays are just around the corner, and it seems like friends and family are always looking for a yummy dessert to bring to those family gatherings. So I thought I’d share one that is usually requested by my family every year. It’s incredibly yummy and I never get tired of it. 🙂

Lorna Doone Dessert

1 package Lorna Doone cookies crushed

Add melted butter to cookies (this is the crust so add as much butter as you prefer; about ¼ to ½ of a stick)

1 7 oz Chocolate chips

2T Sugar

2-1/2 T water

4 egg yolks

1 teas. Vanilla

4 egg whites

Crush Lorna Doone cookies and add melted butter for the crust. Put crust in 10” baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until crust starts to brown. Combine chocolate chips, sugar, and water in double boiler until blended. Remove from fire and add egg yolks, beat after each one. Add vanilla. Chill for a short time maybe 10 to 15 minutes or until the pan is cool to the touch on the bottom.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into chocolate mixture. Spread over cooled cookie crust and top with whipped cream.

**I usually double this and put it in a 9×13 dish.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Post. To read other Slice of Life Posts click here.

And if you have any recipes you’d like to share, leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Fourth of July!

 

Photo via Visualhunt

Hello everyone! I hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July! Spend it with your family and friends and celebrate our freedom. Our soldiers have worked hard for it!

A great Christmas Giveaway!

 

 

The Emblazon Kindle Christmas Giveaway began Tuesday, November 17^th and ends Tuesday, December 1^st. That’s two full weeks for a chance to win your adolescent a new Kindle pre-loaded with over fifty ebooks for your tween. Just visit HERE to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance win this awesome gift for your tween girl or boy!

Over 50 ebooks for your tween! Enter now!

 

 

A Yummy Salsa Recipe for your Labor Day Picnic

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today with a great salsa recipe that’s healthy too! It’s great for those Labor Day picnics! I call it Marie’s Salsa because she’s the one who gave it to me, I’m sure it goes by another name, but I don’t know what it is! Anyway, without further ado here it is! 🙂

Marie’s Salsa

One can black beans rinsed well and drained

One can corn drained

A few tablespoons of lime juice

Packet of McCormick salsa seasonings, mild—you can find this in produce sections of the store

Half red onion diced fine (I rarely add this)

Green pepper diced fine

Red, orange, or yellow pepper diced fine

Two or three tomatoes diced fine

One avocado diced fine and added close to the time of serving (if timing is not working in your favor, salsa is good without it)

Mix together. If adding the red onion, let dip sit about a half hour before serving

I use Tortilla Chips to dip!

Oh and just so you know! “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer is on sale for $.99! Today’s the last day!

In a small town in Michigan, fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman and what’s worse? One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own investigation. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the investigation. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer. Or die trying…

****On sale only on Amazon, here’s the link. 🙂

Amazon

It’s almost Christmas!

Our kitty Lily. This was her first Christmas Tree 🙂

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! Christmas Day is almost upon us and I’m excited! I can’t wait to see my kids opening up their presents. It’s a time of family and celebration. I hope it’s that way for you as well.

At this time of year, I always look back and wonder where the time has gone. When you have kids, it just seems like everything goes by so fast. My kids are growing at an alarming rate. My oldest will be nine in a week! Nine years old! It seems like just yesterday I was changing his diapers. Sigh.

Luckily, they both still believe in Santa. I think it will be the last year for my oldest, though. One of his friends informed him Santa wasn’t real. I, of course, emphatically denied this. For the most part, he believes me, but he wants to set up a video camera to catch Santa in the act. He wants to use this evidence to convince his friend that Santa is real.

How can I argue with this logic? After all, aren’t I trying to raise critical thinkers? Don’t I want them to question things that don’t make sense? My husband and I have painted ourselves right into a corner in this debate. We’ve agreed to his idea. I’m hoping my son will forget about this request in the excitement of the evening and we’ll “forget” to set up the camera.

Otherwise, we’re going to have to set it up and have it malfunction in some way. 😉 In fact, I have it all planned out. When the video camera doesn’t do its job, I’ll ask him, “Well the milk and cookies are gone, isn’t that enough evidence that Santa was here?”

I don’t know what he’ll say, but I’m hoping it works! I’d love them to believe in Santa at least for one more year. 🙂 I love their innocent excitement even when they pull me out of bed at the crack of dawn. We spend so much time shopping and wrapping that I wish the unwrapping and squeals of excitement would last a little bit longer. I guess it’s like that for everything though. The preparation and anticipation before the event takes more time than the event itself. Have you ever noticed that?

Anyway, I’ll be bleary eyed with a squirrels nest for hair as I try to catch images of my kidlets in all their Christmas glory on camera. These moments are fleeting and I’m trying to capture as many of them as I can.

Not only is Christmas a time of celebration, it’s also a time of appreciation. Well at least for me it is. It’s a time to remember friends and family and give thanks just for having them in our lives. I want to send a special thank you to my family and friends just for being who they are. 🙂 You’re all very special to me and I appreciate each and every one of you.

I’d also like to say thank you to my friends that I’ve met via Social Media. Whether I’ve connected with you on Facebook or Twitter, I’ve met some pretty amazing people.

I want to send a huge thank you to my author friends. I’ve never met a more helpful and positive group of people and it warms my heart when I think of them. They’ve helped me so much and I appreciate it!

If I could, I’d give you all a hug, because a hug can communicate more than words!

Sorry, this post got mushier than I anticipated. 🙂  I tend to gush at this time of year!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you’d like to share a special Christmas memory feel free, leave a comment! I’d love to read it! 🙂

Our Kitty Lily. This was her first Christmas Tree. 🙂 She’s such a little ham! 🙂

Please welcome Elaine Cantrell as she shares her Yummy Orange-Pineapple Salad with us!

Each and every Christmas I try to find new and wonderful recipes for my family to enjoy, but this dish is one they demand every year.  Technically, I guess it’s a frozen salad, but it can just as easily be dessert.  It has buttermilk in it which might make some people hesitate to try it, but don’t worry. I promise you won’t know it’s even there. I always serve it in a fancy cut glass bowl and add different garnishes so it looks as good as it tastes.

Orange-Pineapple Salad

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple

1 TBSP sugar

1 6 oz. orange gelatin

c cups buttermilk

1 oz cool whip thawed

1 cup of pecans

Combine pineapple and sugar in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil, stirring occassionally.

Remove from heat, add gelatin, stirring until dissolved.

Fold in whipped topping, chill until firm.

This sounds awesome! Now, let’s learn a little bit more about Elaine’s New Release!

“First Lady Kills President Lovinggood”
December 5, 2018
Thirty years later, Hank Lovinggood embarks on a quest to prove his mother’s innocence and punish the killers who took his family from him. Together Hank and lovely physicist Dr. Kathryn Sinclair confront an implacable, twisted, and merciless enemy who’ll do whatever it takes to hide the truth forever.

 

 

 

Here are the buy links to Elaine’s book! It sounds like a great story! 🙂

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-52-elaine-cantrell/1117552083?ean=2940148981893

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-52-Elaine-Cantrell-ebook/dp/B00H1MHC24/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386858885&sr=1-1&keywords=blue+52+by+elaine+cantrell

 

Now let’s learn a little bit more about Elaine!

Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina.  She has a Master’s Degree in Personnel Services from ClemsonUniversity and is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary sorority for women educators.  She is also a member of Romance Writers of America and EPIC authors.  She is married to her college sweetheart and has two sons and three grandchildren.  Besides writing she enjoys, quilting, gardening, and collecting vintage Christmas ornaments.  You can contact Elaine at her web site at http://www.elainecantrell.com.

Thanks for sharing your recipe and your book with us today!

Please Welcome Heather Gray as she shares her Cheescake Recipe with us!

Please welcome Heather Gray! She’s sharing her yummy Cheescake Recipe with us! Take it away Heather!

Christmas cooking is always tricky at my house.  My husband loves pecan pie.  My son can’t stand it.  My son lives for pumpkin pie.  I love HIM enough to have taught him how to make a mean pumpkin pie, but you’re not going to ever find me taking a bite of the stuff.  I’m the only one who likes apple pie, but I don’t like it enough to go through all the work of making it only to then be stuck with all the calories of eating it.  I’ve only found one thing that we all like and agree on.  So, no matter what else graces the dessert table at Christmas, there will always be cheesecake.  This is my mom’s recipe.  Though I’ve occasionally tried a different just to experiment, I always come back to this one.  I’ve been baking this cheesecake almost as long as I’ve been married, which is just south of twenty years.  Whatever you do, though, don’t ask me about the crust.  You’re on your own for that!  I’ve done everything from graham

cracker crust, to chocolate crust, to pecan caramel crust.  I like them all, but crust doesn’t come  naturally to me.  It never turns out quite the way I want, and I often end up buying the pre-made ones in the grocery store.  Don’t judge me.  Until you’ve tasted the cheesecake, that is.  🙂

Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened.  (Leave at room temperature to soften.  Do NOT take the microwave shortcut.)

2 eggs

3/4 c. sugar

2 tsp vanilla (If you’ve got a less expensive imitation vanilla, you’ll want a generous tablespoon instead)

Directions

Pre-heat yoru oven to 350.

Beat cream cheese slightly.

Add egg, sugar, and vanilla.

Beat until light and fluffy.  (You might be tempted to eat it by the spoonful at this point, but I’ll remind you of all the salmonella warnings about uncooked eggs and that you will not have enough left for your cheesecake if you go too crazy with that spoon right now.)

Poor into crust.  (This makes a fairly generous serving.  If you have a shallow pie crust, you’ll definitely end up with leftover filling.  If you’re craftier than I am, you can make little mini-cheesecakes in a muffin tin with the extra filling.)

Bake until firm (not jiggly), usually 25 minutes — although this will vary a lot depending on your oven.

Refrigerate for 8 hours before serving.  (Don’t skip this step.  You do need to bake and then refrigerate.  I always bake it the day before so there’s less stress on Christmas Day.)

Now check out Heather’s Christmas Story!

Back Cover Blurb:

Anything can happen on the road to Nowhere…

A journalist and single mother, Avery is used to being in control, though she tries to remind herself to let God take lead in her life. Eli, her teenage son, is happy as long as he has his music, plenty of food, and the occasional adult on which to practice his rapier wit.  Gavin, a virtual stranger, is a photojournalist who mysteriously disappeared from the scene a few years ago.

The trio ends up together for a Christmas road trip to the small town of Nowhere.  An eight hour drive in a rental car turns into two days of misadventure and calamity as bad luck stalks them.  They get a flat tire, the bumper falls off, the car overheats – and that’s only the beginning! Along the way they meet some interesting people – from a bait shop owner who moonlights as a mechanic to a chatty preacher’s wife and a highway patrolman whose wife and mother can’t agree on the best way to remove a skunk’s stink.

Hungry, cold, and tired, the three finally arrive in Nowhere only to discover the town is nothing like they expected. Reaching their destination, it turns out, doesn’t necessarily mean the journey has ended.

Author Bio:

Aside from her long-standing love affair with coffee, Heather’s greatest joys in life are her relationship with her Savior, her family, and writing.  Years ago, she decided it would be better to laugh than yell.  Heather carries that theme over into her writing where she strives to create characters that experience both the highs and lows of life and, through it all, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Astraea Press

Smashwords

Kobo

Where to Find Me:

My Website – http://www.heathergraywriting.com

My Blog – http://www.heathergraywriting.com/blog

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/heathergraywriting

Twitter – http://twitter.com/LaughDreamWrite

Goodreads –  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4051662.Heather_Gray

Please Welcome Jodi DeSautels as she shares her Favorite Cookie Recipe with Us!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’ve got Jodi DeSautels with us today and she’s sharing her Applesauce Cookie Recipe with us along with her awesome book! Take it away Jodi!

Hi everyone! I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving as well as a Happy Hanukkah! Lisa, thank you for inviting me to share a recipe.

I first tasted these applesauce cookies when I was a teenager and went square dancing. Yes, I used to do western style square dancing. No, that isn’t the same as a barn dance, but similar. Anyway, I enjoyed the recipe so much that I asked for the recipe. The baker was a dear, sweet woman named Doris. Enjoy!

Please feel free to contact me and connect with me at any of my sites.

Applesauce Cookies

 1 cup sugar

½ cup shortening

1 egg, beaten

1 cup applesauce

2 cups sifted flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. cloves

½ tsp. salt

Cream sugar and shortening, add beaten egg, and then the applesauce.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Combine with creamed mixture, stirring well.  Drop by teaspoon-fulls on oiled cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Yields about 48 cookies.  *Note: ½ cups chopped raisins or nuts are optional.  (I don’t put these in.)

This is a wonderful concept book that targets both colors and feelings. It would be great for school teachers, parents, grandparents and child psychologist to use to help children express their feelings in a healthy way as well as practice colors.Clarinda Cloud has various feelings. With each feeling her face shows that feeling and she turns different colors. When she shares her feelings, she turns back to a white cloud with a happy face.

Wonderful discussions could stem from reading this book with children. “This is Clarinda Clouds angry face, what is your angry face?” for example

The reading level is set at first grade. However, considering the basic concepts of color and feelings and the repetition of the text, the audience level could spread from age 2 to 6.

You can find Jodi at these various sites.

Here is Clarinda Cloud’s webpage…. www.ClarindaCloud.com

my education site… www.DUOEducation.com

my author site… www.AuthorJodiDesautels.weebly.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by Jodi and sharing your book and cookie recipe with us!

Sharon Ledwith shares her Chocolate Banana Split Dream and her New Book!

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you. I’ve got awesome author and great gal pal Sharon Ledwith here today. She’s sharing her yummy desert with us! Take it away Sharon!

Legend-dairy Chocolate-Banana Split Dream…

In my book, Legend of the Timekeepers—the prequel to The Last Timekeepers series—my adolescent characters Lilith, her BFF She-Aba, and an annoying goat-herder named Tau are transported from the Black Land through the seventh Arch of Atlantis, and travel back in time to Atlantis one hundred years before its final destruction. There, Tau finds that he has an insatiable taste for a strange, long yellow fruit he’s never seen before. Fortunately for us, this long yellow fruit—a.k.a. bananas—are readily available at our local markets, and used in some wicked-awesome recipes. The following recipe is easy to make and only takes twenty minutes to prepare, and is a great pick for families to create together on those rainy, fall afternoons:

What you Need:

30 Oreo Cookies (or generic brand), finely crushed (about 2¼ cups)

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 pkg. (250 g) your favorite brand of Cream Cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cold milk

3 cups thawed your favorite brand of Whipped Topping, divided

4 bananas, sliced

2 pkg. (4-serving size each) of your favorite brand Chocolate Instant Pudding

3¼ cups cold milk

1 third cup maraschino cherries, halved

¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts

2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup

What You Do:

MIX cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 13×9-inch dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk in medium bowl with whisk until well blended. Stir in 1 cup Whipped Topping; spread over crust. Top with bananas.

BEAT pudding mixes and 3¼ cups milk with whisk for two minutes; spread over bananas. Let stand five minutes or until thickened; cover with remaining Whipped Topping. Refrigerate four hours.

TOP with cherries, nuts and syrup just before serving.

Did I forget to mention that this yummy dessert serves twenty-four of your closest friends? That’s a good thing, seeing as Tau has a big family! Now, while you’re waiting for this dessert to set, why not partake in an afternoon of cozying up on the couch with a good book?

 

There is no moving forward without first going back.

Lilith was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of Atlantis shattered those dreams and tore her family apart. Now refugees, Lilith and her father make their home in the Black Land. This strange, new country has no place in Lilith’s heart until a beloved high priestess introduces Lilith to her life purpose—to be a Timekeeper and keep time safe.

Summoned through the seventh arch of Atlantis by the Children of the Law of One, Lilith and her newfound friends are sent into Atlantis’s past, and given a task that will ultimately test their courage and try their faith in each other. Can the Timekeepers stop the dark magus Belial before he changes the seers’ prophecy? If they fail, then their future and the earth’s fate will be altered forever.

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, available through Musa Publishing. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, yoga, kayaking, time with family and friends, and single malt scotch. Sharon lives in the wilds of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, a water-logged yellow Labrador and moody calico cat.

Legend of the Timekeepers Buy Links:

MUSA PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀ SMASHWORDS ׀ KOBO ׀ APPLE

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her WEBSITE and BLOG. Stay connected on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and GOODREADS. Check out THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS TIME TRAVEL SERIES Facebook page.