"Honey, this drink is a miracle!" I proclaimed last night in a volume that was perhaps just a smidge too high. "One drink and you're set—you're set!" Apparently I was pretty set already, because I needed my husband to point out that becoming inebriated after drinking 4 ounces of hard alcohol over the course of… Continue reading A Miracle of a Mexican Martini
Cutting Costs
[I got this gazillion word opus on frugality to within a paragraph of completion and then sat on it for months. Why did I do this? I think it's because I feel a bit like a hypocrite; I love to dream up the perfect way to do things, but my execution inevitably falls short. I… Continue reading Cutting Costs
On Valentine’s Day
This year I decided to buy myself roses for Valentine's Day. Are they not stunning? I feel the hand of my grandmother at work. Whenever it came time for gift giving, she would make sure to include herself on the list. "From Alice, To Alice," the card would read. My husband is the love of… Continue reading On Valentine’s Day
Deposed
I'm being deposed tomorrow. That sounds unpleasant, doesn't it? I expect it will be. An unfriendly lawyer asking you as many questions as she wants can't be too fun, especially when your ex-husband is the one who is paying her. This all started a few months ago when my ex-husband, Thomas, sued me two days… Continue reading Deposed
Aguas de Vida
When I grew up, our house sat overlooking a small but beautiful lake in Iowa. I have so many wonderful memories of that lake—learning to swim, dangling my feet off the end of my parents' pontoon boat, ice skating in the winter, and floating in the canoe with my dad at dusk while he read… Continue reading Aguas de Vida
Pretend Gingerbread Cookies
I love gingerbread cookies. Well, the way they look anyway. The way they taste? Not so much. So I decided to fake it. Here is a recipe for super yummy sugar cookies, masquerading as little gingerbread boys and girls. I've also included a recipe for the kind of icing that dries hard. There is nothing… Continue reading Pretend Gingerbread Cookies
Extra Cinnamony Snickerdoodles
I never used to make mistakes while baking. Ever. I would get into this super-anal Martha mode and execute to a T. But now I have all these munchkins running around, sometimes even "helping," and Martha mode is no more. A couple of weeks ago I left the salt out of the pumpkin bread (I… Continue reading Extra Cinnamony Snickerdoodles
Perfect Pie Crust
I always used to buy the refrigerated pie crusts and thought I could never, ever make a homemade version. But I don't know why I was so intimidated; it's really not difficult to make a pie crust. It's just one of those things that you need to get the hang of, but once you do,… Continue reading Perfect Pie Crust
Learning to Nurse
[Two years ago, while pregnant with my third child, I wrote this rambling reflection on learning to nurse, as well as a few other things that made it through my baby-focused brain filter: what it's like to be pregnant for the third time, how hard it is to learn to breastfeed, and why that first… Continue reading Learning to Nurse
A Father’s Love
I wrote this more than four years ago for my first child, Jonah, when he was a toddler. His father and I had just separated, and I was trying to help him (and myself) deal with feelings of confusion and sadness. Although I was primarily thinking of my son and our situation, I was also… Continue reading A Father’s Love
The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
This started off as a recipe from The Frog Commissary Cookbook. I added the coconut oil, which makes a big difference, surprisingly enough. This little bit of coconut oil really adds to the chewiness of the cookie without actually making it taste like coconut. Make sure to use the extra virgin kind. And be sure… Continue reading The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
Amy Daniewicz 