Allie Pleiter's super-easy Christmas treat

I'm not much of a baker.  While I love desserts, I'm more about eating them than making them.  So, I'm always on the lookout for snacks and desserts that are easy and fun.  Here's one that has been a staple in the Pleiter household since the kids were tiny:

Reindeer Eyeballs
About the silly name--back when it was highly amusing to little minds, we used to make them with pretzel rings so that with a single M&M in the middle they did look like eyes.  Now that we're older and more dignified (supposedly) we make them with square pretzels and four M&Ms.  But the name simply refuses to go away....

Ingredients:
1 package Christmas M&Ms
1 package vanilla almond bark
1 package pretzel "snaps"--or any shape that amuses you


1.  Lay out pretzels on wax paper.
2.  Working in small batches, melt one or two blocks at a time of the almond bark in the microwave until it is a pudding-like consistency.
3.  Using a spoon, dab a glob of almond bark onto (or in the spaces of) each pretzel.
4.  Arrange M&Ms on the almond bark and let cool.

This is a salty-sweet snack that is a holiday must-have around our house.  I hope you enjoy it!

--Allie

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Deb Kastner here with a holiday question.
 Do you believe in miracles?
My family has been through SO much this year that my answer is an unqualified YES.

First, my husband had a double-stroke in September. The first stroke was immediately treated and we thought the worst of it was over, but then he was sent down to get an MRI and stroked again. He truly thought he was going to die in that moment, but God brought him back. He's still needed on earth, and I think the Lord every day for that. Even with his new disability, every day I spend with him is a blessing.

Then my mother had back surgery and there were moments that were touch and go. I'm nowhere near ready to say goodbye to my mother, and am happy to say that, while she's still in pain, she's recovering.

And last week my youngest daughter, with my five-year-old grandson in the car, had a major automobile accident. Her car was totaled, and yet they walked away, not totally unscathed, but considering what her car looks like, with relatively small injuries. She has a painful case of whiplash in her neck, shoulders and back, and one hand is in a splint, but for what it could have been, we're thankful. And the highlight of my grandson Boo's day was riding in the firetruck, with nothing more than a cut on his neck where the seat belt was.

Let's just say my family's guardian angels have been working overtime.

And in a most unexpected reminder of Christmas miracles, my Christmas cactus bloomed--at Christmastime! I have the blackest thumb ever and if it blooms, which is rarely, it's always been around Easter.

In my latest release, Mistletoe Daddy, Nick and Vivian are awaiting a miracle of their own. I'll bet you can guess from the cover what that is!

 Christmas is a time for miracles. Has God been working in a special way in your life?

Allie Pleiter on Fall

Is it really fall?

I know Monday was the “official” end of summer, but here in Chicago it is HOT and STICKY.  Of course, being Chicago, all you have to do is wait a day or so and the weather changes.  Our forecasters (not a job I’d ever undertake in a changeable city like Chicago!) tell us we’ll fall into the sixties by the end of the week, but I’m not sure I believe them.

My favorite sign of fall is the nice, cool day I can get out my fluffy knitted scarves and shawls and not feel out of place.  What’s your favorite sign of fall?

Speaking of coming seasons, you can pre-order my Christmas book now.  It’s the third book in the Lone Star Cowboy League series which launches next week.  Start the series off with Brenda Minton’s A Reunion for the Rancher, continue with Leigh Bale’s A Doctor for the Nanny, and then welcome Christmas with my A Ranger for the Holidays.  Three more books in the series come in the new year!

Christmas comes TWICE a year for Allie Pleiter!

"What?" you say.  "Christmas comes twice a year????"

This year, for me, it does.  I got an extra special early Christmas present - a new cover for my 2009 holiday novel, “Bluegrass Christmas”!  

Seems the Kentucky Corners novel of a Christmas pageant gone horribly wrong (in the way only quirky Middleburg can create) will be available again to Love Inspired readers as a January release.

Here’s what the old cover looked like:

Here’s the new one:

The big change is that that Mac’s showman of a cockatoo, Curly, is missing from the store window.  But it’s a lovely Christmas scene--especially how they captured the look of falling snow.

What do you think?

A Season of Love by Kim Watters

Kim Watters here. I'm proud to announce my newest release from Love Inspired.  A Season of Love is my fourth book with Harlequin and my second in Dynamite Creek, Arizona. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Blessings,
Kim

Blurb:

The Soldier’s Gift

Just in time for Christmas, a tall, dark and handsome Scrooge visits Holly Stanwyck’s holiday shop, threatening eviction. But once landlord Ethan Pellegrino sees the single mom’s plight, the former soldier becomes her protector instead. Suddenly he’s helping her with her struggling business and bounding with her troubled son. A wounded veteran come home to heal, Ethan is no stranger to sorrow. But something about the pretty widow fills him with hope. Will Holly be able to let go of her own painful past to see her future by his side?

Excerpt:

Ethan momentarily lost himself in Holly’s presence. Her swept back locks exposed her long, elegant neck and straight, slightly upturned nose. But it was her vulnerability that got to him.

Despite her attempts to keep it all together, he sensed just below the surface she suffered and struggled with her son, the shop, everyday life.

He should step away. Instead, when she turned her head toward him, he found himself staring into her deep green eyes that had seen so much pain. A pain he could identify with. He’d lost his father at a young age, and several of his friends in Afghanistan. But even that couldn’t compare to losing one’s partner, one’s soul mate.

He had no experience with that sort of loss, yet he felt the need to comfort. Protect. He wanted to draw Holly into his arms and absorb her pain and blend it with his own. 

For further information, check out my website at www.kimwatters.com

Christmas Spirit?

 Hi, Charlotte Carter here.

My Christmas shopping is done. The presents that needed to be shipped are on their way. The Christmas letter my husband wrote is tucked into appropriate cards, sealed, stamped and mailed. I’ve wrapped the presents for those who live locally and they await delivery.

Last week my husband put up the outside lights without complaint! Yesterday I decorated inside; it seems, with an empty nest, I do less every year.

Writing? That’s been on hold, but soon I will get back to it. Deadline looms.

Amid all the activities and stress, our government is arguing about taxes, battles rage all around the world and a terrible tragedy happened in Newtown, CT.

How can we hold onto the message of Christmas? What is your secret? Share it with others so they will know.

Happy reading....
Char......
　
Books that leave you smiling....
www.CharlotteCarter.com

Christmas Greetings

Charlotte Carter here wishing you a lovely Christmas with your loved ones, far and near.

If you have experienced a personal loss this year, I wish you relief from your grief and peace. May your memories bring you moments of joy and happiness.

Char.........

Merry Christmas!

Carrie Turansky here, stopping by to say hello and wish you all a Merry Christmas! Here at the Turanskys we are enjoying a quieter Christmas this year with only two of our five young adult kids home for the holiday. Our younger son was married earlier this month, and all the family was together for the wedding....so they've all flown back home now. But what a fun time we had at the wedding! I headed up the flower and decorating team, and we put it all together in a three-day marathon.

I am excited about my new books coming out in 2012 - A Man to Trust in March and Snowflake Sweethearts in December. So be looking for those titles. In the meantime I would love to stay in touch with you! I offer an email newsletter every other month with book news, encouraging articles, recipes and lots of photos. The sign up box is on my website home page www.carrieturansky.com. I hope you will stop by and sign up to receive the newsletter. If you do, drop me an email, and I will send you a free download for my eBook Surrendered Hearts. Here's my email: carrie (at) carrieturansky (dot) com.

My your heart be filled with the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas.

Blessings,

Carrie

My Favorite Christmas

Hi all, Charlotte Carter here.

I suppose everyone has a favorite Christmas memory. The year they got the bike they had so wanted. Or maybe a Chatty Cathy doll when those were popular.

My favorite Christmas was the year my daughter Carolyn was born.

My husband and I moved to Anchorage, Alaska when we were first married. He was a civilian engineer assigned to help the Air Force keep their missiles operating. For me, a native Californian who had rarely seen snow much less lived in a snowy climate, it was all quite exciting. And truly beautiful.

I was pregnant as our second Christmas approached. (Which, by the way, gave me an excuse not to tramp through the woods through a foot of snow to cut down our own tree and freeze my feet in the process as I had the previous Christmas.)

As I walked through town doing my Christmas shopping, I admired the decorations draped from lamp poles and the store windows painted with holiday themes. Like most first-time moms-to-be, I wanted to shout to everyone that I would soon have a baby! And thank them for decorating the whole town in honor of her upcoming arrival.

On the evening of December 23^rd, my water broke. Off to the hospital we went, which was no easy trick. We’d had a Chinook, a warm spell that melted the snow during the day and turned it to ice at night. Newly-built Providence hospital was at the end of a long, dirt road, not uncommon in Anchorage at the time, and was glazed over with ice. Driving no more than 5-miles an hour, my husband managed to keep us on the road instead of in the ditch. I was so grateful we, and the baby, were in no hurry.

Baby Carolyn definitely wasn’t in a hurry. She didn’t make her grand entrance until the afternoon of December 24^th. It is not possible to describe the surge of love I felt the moment I saw her. Wow! I was a mother. A scary and wonderful feeling.

And the best Christmas present ever!

What is your favorite Christmas memory?

Wishing you a lovely Christmas and many happy memories.

Books that leave you smiling......by Charlotte Carter

Big Sky Family, Love Inspired, available now

Montana Love Letter, Love Inspired, 10/2012

www.CharlotteCarter.com

We Love Christmas Stories--Lenora Worth

Hello, everyone. It's beginning to look like Christmas. Well, everywhere but at my house. As usual, I am way behind. But I intend to get busy next week and clean my house to make it festive. In the meantime, I've been getting in the spirit by watching Christmas movies on Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel. What is it about Christmas and falling in love? These movies always have a happy ending, so I know how they will end. Most of them have two souls searching for some meaning in life and maybe someone to love in the process. Sigh. You'd think I'd get tired of watching the same ones every year, but I don't. I can't even remember the titles but I know the stories. We all do. There is something about falling in love while snow is falling and jingle bells are tinkling and Santa is smiling in the background. I even got an idea for a Christmas story (while I was watching Hawaii Five-O.) Yes, that is how my mind works. We all know the power of Christmas--we know about love and sacrifice and ... the birth of Christ. So in spite of all the hype that happens this time of year, there is still something heartwarming and awe inspiring about stories set during Christmas. I say bring 'em on, sappy and weepy and happy and wonderful. We always need a little Christmas, no matter what time of year.

So readers, what do you love about Christmas stories?

Happy Holidays!

My greetings are perhaps a bit  early, but I won't be on the schedule again until after the holidays are over, so I just didn't want to miss a chance to wish everyone all the best, and to extend my thanks to all of the readers who visit this blog.  You're the best!  :)

I had a Thanksgiving themed book out last month (The Loner's Thanksgiving Wish) and have a book out this month as well--Duty To Protect,  which is a Love Inspired Suspense set during a very snowy winter in Colorado and Montana.  Brrrrrr!  I'm glad it was Emma and not me,  trapped in a frigid horse trailer crossing Nebraska!

Early forecasts for the Upper Midwest indicated that we were going to have an unusually cold and snowy winter,  just as I wrote in the book, but so far we're still having lovely forty degree days (far nicer than thirty below!) and have had just a single whisper of snowflakes one day.   But even though the weather is still lovely, I've got our Christmas decorations up and now need to start baking. How about you--are you set for the holidays?

I'd like to share the best recipe I've ever found for cut-out cookies, one especially great for when you're baking with small kids.  As much as you work with it, reforming the odd bits and pieces into a ball and rolling it out again, it still stays nice to work with.   I've used this since the early 1980's.  Once, while reaching for the nutmeg, I knocked a container of chili powder into the bowl, the lid came off and the entire container emptied over the cookie dough.  I removed what I could, then added ample cocoa powder to cover the taste--and everyone still loved them.  Now, this is one very forgiving recipe!  :)

Super Easy Roll-out Cookies    --The Rustands

 

1 cup shortening           1 ½  tsp cream of tartar

1 ½ cups sugar              1 tsp soda

2 eggs                           ½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla                  4 cups flour

2 Tbsp milk                       

optional: 1 tsp cinnamon  and/or  1 tsp nutmeg

 

You can drop these on a  cookie sheet and flatten with a fork, or use for cut-out cookies.  We like to double the recipe, and roll them out  quite thin.  350 degrees, 8-10 minutes.  My favorites are the ones liberally decorated with cinnamon red hots candy!

Roxanne Rustand

www.roxannerustand.com

Merry Christmas from Camy Tang

Camy here, wishing a very merry Christmas to you and yours today! I'll share my favorite photo of my dog, Snickers, where she fell asleep in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas eve, waiting for Santa. :)

Christmas in Yosemite

Nature's gift for Christmas



Half Dome Yosemite - 2010






May your Christmas be a picture-perfect postcard.

Merry Christmas from Charlotte Carter

Breath of Heaven

Terri Reed here, I'm listening to my daughter practice a piece of music for her upcoming audition for her school's Christmas concert. She's singing Breath of Heaven. I believe Amy Grant is the orginal recording artist for this song. However, my daughter sings a few octives higher than Grant, so I can't really compare the two. Each are unique and beautiful in their own way. I could listen to my daughter sing for hours. In fact, I think it has been hours. Hours of practicing, working out the notes, playing with the tempo and adding riffs that aren't in the sheet music.
The song is so timeless and special. Told from the view point of Mary, the mother of Jesus, asking God for help and guidance, affirming God's goodness and graciousness. The tender words and haunting melody bring the focus of Christmas to the reason we, as followers of Christ, celebrate. The birth of our Lord Jesus.

May you find a breath of heaven as we enter into the busy holiday season.

And if you're looking for a stocking stuffer, don't forget Love Inspired books fit just right!

New Home at Christmas

Merry Christmas from Merrillee. I just noticed that my name is kind of merry. I'm not going to talk about my name, but I had to make that observation. I'm visiting with my daughter and her husband because they have just moved from Chicago to Tucson. I'm here to help them move in and be here for my granddaughter's first birthday.

Moving into a new house at Christmas can be a challenge. We did it once when our kids were in high school. We bought a tree on Christmas eve for very little because they were trying to get rid of them. Organizing a house after a move is a job in itself, but adding the Christmas decorating along with that can make the job even more difficult. We could have skipped the decorating, but what would Christmas be without a tree and at least a few decorations. So today I went shopping with my son-in-law. We bought a tree. It looked like the perfect tree, but when we got it home, I decided that it wasn't as wonderful as it looked at the store. However, once we get it decorated, it will be wonderful. We bought garland for the bannister on their stairway, and we put up some of the decorations that they already owned. We are hanging pictures and finding places for all of their belongings. When I return home in a few days, hopefully, they will be somewhat settled.

I would have included some photos, but they still don't have internet access. That will be installed on Friday--too late for this post. I'm having to use a borrowed computer. I went to the public library to use the computer the other day. I'm so used to having internet access that I'm having to get used to living without it.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

'Tis the Season

That's right. I know it's early. Merrillee here, already thinking about decorating my house with Christmas lights. This is a photo of the front of my house, which shows about a fourth of all the lights I put out at Christmas.

Fall is here. Can Christmas be far behind? I'm sure you've seen Christmas items already lining the shelves of your favorite stores. Christmas stories are popping up in our Love Inspired books. I enjoy the Christmas season, but I hardly ever shop early. In fact, I'm one of those people you might find wandering the mall on Christmas Eve, still looking for one more gift.

But last year our first grandchild was born on December 13. I immediately flew to Chicago, and all chances to shop were lost. The best thing we did last year was give gifts to charity instead of to each other. A new granddaughter was the best gift.

When do you start thinking about Christmas?

I Remember Mama

I'd like to invite all of you to visit my personal blog http://www.strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com

to read a special Christmas memory of my mother who was always the friend of any animal.

And also I'm suffering cabin fever and I'd love it if you'd drop by http://www.craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com

and cheer me up.

Hope you're all having fun in the lull between Christmas and New Years.
Blessings,
Lyn

Where has the time gone?

(A similar post can also be found at http://barbphinney.blogspot.com/, along with some other interesting notes)
Like my title says, where has the time gone? I've spent the last few months getting a proposal for some books done up and the day after I sent them, my editor called to offer me a one book contract!
It's part of a series coming out starting January 2010, and my book will be May 2010. It's called Fatal Secrets, and I've decided I like writing to a title, and a basic synopsis. At least, with the editors writing up the synopsis, they can't rip it apart on me! I love creating stories, but it's so easy to be given the title. That way, when your title, the one you love just as much as the story itself, is turned down, you end up scrambling around to offer others, only to have something totally different being chosen.
But now Christmas has come and gone and our family has seen some big ups and downs. An uncle died, my father in law had a heart attack, and yet, in the midst of that, my daughter got engaged.
Still, I will soldier on, as they say. I'm used to the idea of my daughter getting married some day in the future, and we've visited my father in law, who is still in the hospital. We attended a tough funeral for a well liked man.
My writing continues, as does life in general. Nothing stays the same, my mother in law says, and all we can do is go with the flow. And in the meantime, I must write and edit and coordinate with the other writers in the series, a joy and good experience to be sure, but worrisome when you think of the editor and what she may say. I want a big prologue, but it may be trashed when the editor reads the others and sees their neat and compact ones (each book is to start with a short prologue). She may look at mine and ladle out her bucket of red ink, the one she keeps for all us wayward authors!
I've also joined the Craftie Ladies of Suspense. We sound like a bunch of murderers who connive together to commit felonies. But I have a feeling we'll have fun. Naturally, if you ever meet us, remember that we're really just a harmless group of writers.
Speaking of which, I better get writing, remembering to be concise and yet, delightfully entertaining.
So, in that vein, I thank you for stopping by.
Happy New Year!
Barbara