Monthly Archives: June 2009

Vanilla Milkshake – A Recipe

I haven’t shared a recipe in a long time. Last weekend, I made this and my son and I enjoyed it…a lot! My hubby only had a few sips since he doesn’t care for milkshakes…much! He might drink a little bit, but not too much. He prefers straight-up ice cream!

Vanilla Milkshake


2 cups of Breyers vanilla ice cream (you could use any brand, but I’m partial to Breyer’s)
1 cup of cold whole milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. You might have to stop your blender periodically if the mixture gets stiff, and move the mixture around with a plastic spatula. Once mixture is smooth, pour into tall glasses.

Serves 2.

When we drank this last weekend, I took one sip and thought it tasted heavenly! It’s such a simple recipe, but it tastes so good!

My son loved it! He drank all of his and half of mine! Also, if you want to cut calories, you can use non-fat/low-fat/sugar-free ice cream and skim or low-fat milk. However, I’m sure it will affect the taste.

If you want to do this, and get optimal taste, use the Breyer’s ice cream! It’s a simple ice cream with only a few ingredients, but it has a nice, natural flavor, and it just tastes so good in this recipe.

If you try this recipe, email me or leave a comment on the blog and let me know if you enjoyed it! This will be a cool summertime treat to enjoy in the coming months!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

June Book Giveaway!


For June, I’m giving away the following fourteen books. All fourteen of these new/slightly used books will go to one person! If interested, leave a comment with your response to the following question:
Coffee…what do you think about it? Do you love it, hate it, are indifferent? Do you drink it everyday?!

I love coffee. I usually drink a large serving every morning before going to work (that would be about now!). Occasionally, I’ll drink it during the day, too. I don’t go to places like Starbucks very much. I usually make my coffee myself, using Maxwell House or Folgers.

I started drinking coffee sometime after college, after I’d started working full-time. I’d see other people drinking it, so, then I’d start drinking it, too. Plus we had two fifteen-minute breaks, and, people would go into the break room and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes – I didn’t smoke, and this was back in the day when people still smoked inside their workplaces! I was about 22 at the time and the smoke in that coffee room was thick and hazy. After awhile, the closed space bothered me. Smoking was banned from the building a year or so later, so we could enjoy coffee in a smokeless environment. Later, I started drinking coffee at my house. A friend gave me a coffee maker and I started fixing it in the mornings and on weekends.

Anyway, do you recall when you started drinking coffee? About how old were you and what prompted you to start drinking it?

When you leave your comment, don’t forget to leave your email address! Continental U.S. and Canada residents only! Also if you enter the drawing, I’ll add your address to my mailing list. But DON’T WORRY, I only send out mass emails A FEW TIMES A YEAR!

Here’s the list of novels:

1. John’s Quest by Cecelia Dowdy
John French, a science professor, is an agnostic–he’s unsure if God exists. When he’s hired to tutor a blind seven-year-old child, Scotty, he finds himself falling for the child’s beautiful aunt/guardian, Monica Crawford. Monica’s life changes drastically when her irresponsible younger sister abandons her handicapped son on her doorstep. As John helps Monica to educate her nephew, he falls in love with her. However, problems arise when Monica, a devout Christian, finds herself drawn to Scotty’s handsome and intelligent tutor. Monica finds herself in a bind because she knows it’s a sin to be unequally yoked with a non-believer. How in the world can these two lovebirds overcome the huge problems that stand in the way of their relationship?

2. Milk Money by Cecelia Dowdy
Running a dairy farm is a big job, but doing it alone is almost impossible.
When her dad dies, Emily must work hard to save the family farm, but she manages. Until the day the CPA pulls in her drive and announces he’s there to do an audit on the place.
Franklin Reese is appalled at the lack of interest the Cooper women have in the financial end of their livelihood, but he dives in, determined to help them learn. The further he looks into Mr. Cooper’s dealings, however, the more uncomfortable he becomes.
Can he uncover the truth of the situation and still earn the love of the amazing Emily Cooper? Will Franklin’s addiction to alcohol keep them apart, even after the farm is taken care of? Only God can heal hurting hearts and repair broken lives. Will these two let Him in?

3.
Bittersweet Memories by Cecelia Dowdy
Karen Brown is angry at God, and at herself, for falling in love with Lionel Adams, her ex-fiancé. When her beloved suddenly disappears, along with thousands of dollars stolen from their mega-church, she re-locates back to her hometown in Annapolis Maryland to live with her mother. She’s stunned to discover handsome plumber Keith Baxter living next door.
Keith is smitten with Karen, but wonders if she’s still in love with Lionel. He wants Karen to accept him into her life, but he doesn’t know if he’d be a good match for her due to his troubled past. Can Karen forgive Lionel, and let the Lord back into her heart?

4. Salt Water Taffie by Janice Hanna
Taffie Carini enjoys working in her family’s candy store on the Atlantic City boardwalk. But when her parents begin planning their retirement, Taffie finds herself in a sticky situation. She’s not sure she has the moxie or the know-how to manage Carini’s Confections on her own.

When repairman Ryan Antonelli makes a service call at Carini’s, he’s irresistibly drawn to more than just the candy. Although his marketing degree has hardly prepared him to fix a taffy-making machine, Ryan will do anything to help Taffie, with the hopes of winning her heart.

When a business mogul wants to buy Carini’s property to build a new casino, Taffie’s family’s future is threatened. Can Ryan help Taffie come up with a plan to save Carini’s Confections from an unsavory developer? Will they find sweet love together in the process?

5. Demon – A Memoir by Tosca Lee

6. A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman

7. White Hot by Sandra Brown – PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A SECULAR TITLE!

8. The House On Grosvenor Square by Linore Rose Burkand

9. The Note II by Angela Hunt

10. Always Watching by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins

11. For The Love Of Books by Donna Reimel Robinson

12.
A McKaslin Homecoming by Jillian Hart
From Barnes and Noble.com:
When contacted by her long-lost grandmother, Lauren McKaslin wanted to reconnect—with all the warmhearted Montana McKaslins. For too long, she’d relied solely on herself and her faith. But mistrustful lawman Caleb Stone stood in the way, and his questions about her were intimidating. Was his attention more than a protective instinct? Now that she believed in family again, perhaps this was also the time to believe in true love….

13.
Worth It’s Weight In Old by K.D. Hays – A Karen Maxwell Mystery
Synopsis (from the publisher): Paintings slashed … Furniture broken … Someone is wreaking havoc at the Blue Moon Art & Antiques Gallery.

Fledgling private investigator Karen Maxwell goes undercover as a salesclerk to find out who’s behind the vandalism, and why. She learns little from Vicki, a friendly clerk who seems interested only in rearranging pictures to display them — and her designer clothes and sports car — to maximum advantage. Eric, the shop’s surly, tight-lipped porter, would run over her with a hand truck before he’d answer any questions. The guilt may even lay with the shop owners themselves, despite the fact that they’re the ones who hired her.

Karen’s investigation seems to be going nowhere — just like her once-promising relationship with Brian, the handsome blacksmith who could sweep her off her feet in a minute … if he’d ever take a break from working with the church youth group. Frustration mounts as her dreams of romantic evenings turn into endless rehearsals for the church Christmas play.

If Karen can’t crack the case soon, she may find herself busted back to plain, old office manager, her dreams of a career as a private investigator — and a life with Brian — as old and busted as the Blue Moon’s vandalized antiques.

14. On The Run by Bill Myers – The Elijah Project

~Cecelia Dowdy~