Blog - Page 44 of 47 - Debra Sennefelder

Six-Sentence Sunday #4

Happy Sunday! Phew. It’s been a busy time here between Christmas baking, Christmas shopping and revisions. I’m soooo close to finishing the revisions and then I get to tackle the Great American agent hunt. 🙂 That means I get to write a synopsis. WooHoo!!!!! (FYI, that was a sarcastic WooHoo) But I’m not going to think about that now. Nope, not going to think about it. I’m going to focus on this quick snippet, six sentences from my current WIP.

Excerpt:

Sally’s frown deepened. “Because of her we did not even rank in the top twenty-five community gardens in the state.”

“This isn’t the time nor the place to discuss this. Elaine has been invited. If she shows up we’ll just have to deal with it,” Audrey said.

“Letting the inmates run the asylum,” Sally muttered as she marched back to the living room.

Shih-Tzu Saturday

Shih-Tzu Saturday #5

Sometimes it hard to get out of bed in the morning. Case in point. One sleepy Susie while the rest of us were up and about…okay, Billy wasn’t up and about really, he was lounging on the sofa in the living room. Our Shih-Tzus really aren’t morning dogs. I guess that’s a good thing.

Wildlife

An unexpected visitor

Over the summer we had a visitor at work. This bear was making his way through several towns and decided to stop by our office.

Breakfast, Recipes

Eggnog Pancakes

Add a little festive to your next breakfast. Begin with a basic pancake recipe, pour in some eggnog and call it a holiday! For some more fun, kick up your syrup with some fresh cranberries. Boy, if Santa knew this was on the menu for Christmas breakfast he wouldn’t be returning to the North Pole so quickly.

Eggnog Pancakes

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Debra Sennefelder

Serves: 6-12

Start your day with these yummy festive pancakes. If Santa knew you were making these on Christmas morning he would stay for breakfast.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups eggnog
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In separate bowl, mix the eggnog, eggs, and sugar.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter is evenly moistened. (Note, the batter will not be smooth and that’s okay).
While the batter rests, heat a griddle over medium heat. Butter pan and then when the pan is heated, four the batter onto the cooking surface. Use the spoon to gently spread the thick batter.
Flip the pancakes when they’re covered in bubbles and the underside is nicely browned. Cook the other side for about half as long. Serve immediately with syrup.

Notes

Cranberry syrup: Depending how many pancakes you make, this syrup can be adjusted. I used 1 cup of cranberries with 2 tablespoons sugar and two tablespoons of cranberry juice and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. This is such an easy recipe you can adjust it for taste. I also added regular syrup to my servings.[br][br]Pancake yield: It depends how big you make them.

Holidays

Finding the right Christmas gift

I love buying and giving gifts. I kind of think I’m pretty good at finding just the right thing for the right person (or Shih Tzu). Maybe that’s because I’m a shopper (I did major in Fashion Buying) and I love a good hunt. There was a pair of boots I wanted to replace last year and I scoured the internet for days until I found them. Score! But, this post isn’t about my super shopping powers, it’s about giving a perfect gift.

A friend of mine is one of those gals who is doing a bizillion things at the same time while her mind is racing with another bizillion things she should be doing. Living like this 24/7 can be overwhelming and stressful. She doesn’t have any hobbies, she doesn’t take time to read and she doesn’t exercise (all those three things I regularly engage in) so she has no type of stress relief.

Just before Christmas of last year she was very excited because her son got engaged. She was envisioning the wedding, the reception and yes, grandchildren. 🙂 It seemed like that was all she could think about and she mentioned that she should pick up her crocheting again so she could make things for a baby. Yeah, she was getting a little ahead of herself because the wedding isn’t happening until next August and this was at the end of 2014. However, since I was listening (and that’s one of the secrets to giving the perfect gift) I knew exactly what to give her for Christmas.

I went to Lions Yarns website and found a beginner pattern for a hat and scarf set and I printed it out. Then I purchased the yarn that was recommended along with all of the tools the pattern required so that when I gave my friend her gift it would be one complete kit, all she had to do was crochet.

My friend loved gift last year. She was so happy and so surprised. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about? The surprise? It doesn’t matter how much something costs because the true meaning of Christmas isn’t about a price tag. Right now I’m putting together the her gift for this year and I’m sure she’s going to love it too. So, what about? What’s your awesome gift giving story?