If you know me, you know I’m a cake snob. Box mixes are okay, but homemade cakes are my true love. Cake cooked in the microwave, though? I admit, in the past I’ve been seduced by the promise of piping-hot cakey goodness in only a few minutes, or the cuteness of one serving of cake in a coffee mug (and no mixing bowls to wash).

Yet every microwave-cake recipe I had ever tried was a disappointment. My usual response to those recipes now is, Rubbery, unevenly-cooked cake that doesn’t really satisfy any craving? Bleah, no thank you. I’m glad I tried this recipe from Prudent Baby, because I was very pleasantly surprised by how tasty it is. And it’s easy! I’ve made it about five times, tweaking the recipe to suit my tastes, and everyone who has tried it has loved it.

Soften a tablespoon of butter in each mug, 10-15 seconds in the microwave on medium power. You want the butter soft but not melted. (The mug[s] you use can be large or small, it doesn’t really matter. If you use a smallish mug, the finished cake will puff out over the top a little, which is fine.)

Add two tablespoons of sugar and stir till it’s fluffy and creamy.

Pour a little bit of vanilla into each mug. I just eyeballed it, but if you want you could measure out 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

This step is optional. If you don’t mind a crumbly cake (or you can’t eat eggs) you can skip it. If you want a chewier, more, uh, cake-like cake then mix in about half an egg per mug. The first time I made these, I happened to have egg yolks in the fridge left over from making an angel food cake, so I just used one yolk per mug. You could also break an egg into a bowl and lightly beat it, then use half of that. Or you could even use a whole egg, if you want. It will just make for a rather dense, eggy cake which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Add two tablespoons of vanilla or plain yogurt (or sour cream, or even sour milk or buttermilk in a pinch) to your mug and stir well.

Mix in 1/4 cup of flour, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

Now for the best part: the streusel topping! In another bowl, for each mug mix together 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut 1 tablespoon of cold butter into small bits and add that to the bowl, then use your fingers to rub and smoosh the butter into the flour mixture till it’s well combined. Sprinkle that over the top of the cake batter in the mug.

Stick your mug into the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute, and in additional 10-second increments as needed. In my microwave, one mug of cake is done in 1 minute 20 seconds, and two mugs of cake take about 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Ta-daa! Coffee cake in a mug, in less than ten minutes. Just be sure to let it cool a bit before you eat it. Serve with pickled eggs and pretzels for an excellent late-night supper.

Microwaved Coffee Cake in a Mug
serves 1

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• optional: 1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1 egg yolk or 1 egg white)
• 2 Tbsp vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Streusel Topping:

• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp butter

1. In a large or small mug, soften (not melt) butter in microwave for 10-15 seconds on medium.
2. Add sugar and mix till creamy and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla.
4. Stir in the yogurt.
5. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
6. Make the streusel topping: mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add cut-up butter and rub into flour mixture till well-combined.
7. Sprinkle topping over batter in mug.
8. Cook in microwave on high power for one minute, plus additional 10-second increments as necessary. When the cake looks mostly dry, it’s done. Let it sit for a minute to finish cooking.

October 2: Annalie’s been doing a lot of drawing on her easel chalkboard lately. I thought this one, of a pear on a branch, was particularly good.

October 3: Class in in session. (Homeschooling can be kind of awesome. In our dress code, pajamas and bedhead are perfectly acceptable attire.)

I looked out the window of Elliora’s room and saw four deer across the street in our neighbor’s yard. (One of the deer is just to the left of frame, behind a bush, so I didn’t bother trying to get it in the shot.)

October 4: I couldn’t get Elliora to lie on the couch for our monthly photo session; she kept rolling away. I tried to sneak some photos in one day when Katy happened to be in her bedroom while we were in there playing, but I couldn’t get Elliora to look at me for a single photo. Oh well. This is very representative of 10 months.

We got a new chair from our neighbors who were getting rid of it after it didn’t sell at their garage sale. Elliora loves it and has already figured out how to push it up against the couch and use it to climb up.

October 5: Troy had to come home on a lunch break. I grabbed the opportunity to take a photo of him and the girls. (He normally wears civilian clothes on his commute and changes into his uniform at work, so we don’t see him in uniform very often.)

Elliora, just reading in her chair.

October 6: My friend Carrie, who is married to a Swede and used to live in Sweden, mentioned that October 4th is National Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden, which inspired me to try making some tasty Swedish cinnamon buns, also called Kanelbullar. I knew that Swedish pearl sugar I bought just because it was pretty would come in handy someday.

I went painting pottery with both girls, and all things considered, I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. I managed to keep Elliora entertained and paint at the same time but it was exhausting.

I painted this sign (“NO WHINING. Kthx.“) for my friend Katie as an unbirthday gift for her to hang in her high-school English classroom.

October 7: Elliora decided that her toy basket looked like a comfortable place to sit.

October 8: We were invited over to our neighbors’ for pizza and the last swim of the summer in their pool. I was sitting in their living room when I glanced out the window and saw they had “Live long and prosper” painted along the inside of the fascia on their front porch, so you’d see it as you walk out the door. I’ve been over there a half-dozen times and never noticed it before.

Elliora on the left at 10 months; Annalie on the right at 17 months, in 2005.

October 10: Elliora has discovered a love of being underneath tables. We’ve discovered how many gross things and choking hazards normally live underneath our tables.

October 11: Elliora has also discovered the basket by our fireplace where we keep firewood and old newspapers. She takes her job of spreading every last sheet of newspaper around the room at least once a day very seriously.

Speaking of Trekkies, Elliora looks adorable in her ThinkGeek Starfleet Academy Cadet onesie, don’t you agree?

October 12: It’s really hard to make mashed-potato casserole look pretty.

October 13: I love it when geeky friends come bearing geeky gifts. Well, technically Laura painted the bowl on the left for me because I painted a dottery bowl for her with a BBT quote (which I never got a photo of, I just realized). And Sonja mailed the bowl (with quotes from the song Friends Forever in the Scrubs episode “My Musical”) to me, she didn’t give it to me in person. But the point stands.

October 14: These apple-pie cookies (via smitten kitchen) were extremely delicious. I kind of want to go make another complicated, time-consuming batch right this very second.

October 15: Elliora getting a taste of fall. (Har har.)

October 17: Rainbow sparkly fingernails! The polish (Rainbow Connection, natch) is from the OPI Muppet collection. It made me happy every time I glanced at my hands. Too bad it chipped and peeled so easily. But I’ve been told I should try a base coat next time and that might help.

October 18: Elliora is a climbing fool.

October 19: We went on a leaf walk for science, collecting red and gold leaves and talking about why trees change color in the fall. Annalie copied a list of words for handwriting practice and just to help her learn the words. I threw a couple of pictures in there and told her to write the words for the pictures. The picture for #6 was a tree, and I had to laugh when I saw how Annalie had spelled it. When I pointed her mistake out to her, Annalie thought it was pretty funny too. She said, “I don’t know what I was thinking. I know how to spell ‘tree!’”

Here’s the thing: it’s really hard to make a quesadilla look pretty in a photo. I suppose I could have gussied this one up with a garnish of sour cream and cilantro, or even just remembered to take a picture before I devoured half of it. But I’ve decided that my friend Madge is right to be suspicious of pretty food, and that often the uglier food is the better it tastes. Yeah, gonna go with that.

It helps that my quesadillas usually are quite delicious. I suppose it’s hard to mess up a tortilla filled with melted cheese, but still. I think we’ve all had blah quesadillas before. This is not blah. It is, if I dare toss modesty out the window for a second, sublime.

Avocado and Caramelized Onion Quesadilla
Makes 2 quesadillas

• 2 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 flour tortillas
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 2-4 Tbsp. salsa

First, caramelize the onion: Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a skillet (large enough for one of your tortillas to fit in the bottom) over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Reduce heat to low and let onions cook, stirring occasionally, till very soft and golden brown, about a half-hour. (If you’re in a hurry, you can cook them for less time, but the longer they cook, the sweeter they’ll get.) When the onions are done, remove them from the pan. You’re going to use the same pan to cook the quesadillas but don’t bother wiping it out or anything.

To assemble: fold a tortilla in half to crease, then open. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the cheese over half, up to the crease. Top with half the onions and half the sliced avocado, and spoon 1-2 Tbps. salsa evenly over that. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of cheese on top of all, and fold the tortilla at the crease, pressing down gently. Repeat with the second tortilla and the remaining ingredients.

Heat 1 Tbsp. butter in skillet over medium heat. Arrange quesadillas in skillet. Cook about a minute per side or till browned and slightly crisp, flipping carefully with a wide spatula.

Slice into triangles and serve hot—garnished with sour cream and cilantro, if you like.

Two-Cheese Mashed-Potato Bake with Rosemary
Serves 4-6 as a side, 2-3 as a main dish.

• large sweet onion, diced
• 3 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp butter
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 medium potatoes (~2 lbs)
• 2/3 c. milk or half-and-half
• 3 ounces cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
• 3/4 to 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried rosemary)
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

First, caramelize the onions because that’ll take a while: Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute for a minute. Reduce heat to low and let onions cook, stirring occasionally, till very soft and golden brown. This will take a half-hour or more, so be patient.

While the onions are cooking, let’s get the potatoes going: Peel, rinse and quarter the potatoes. Place in a large pot with just enough water to cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes or till potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork.

Drain potatoes, return to pot and mash well with a potato masher. Add milk and cream cheese and mix well.

When the onions are done to your liking, scrape the onions and all that butter into the potatoes. Add rosemary and salt and pepper and mix. Reserve a handful of cheddar for the top of the casserole, then sprinkle half the remaining cheddar over the potatoes and stir carefully. (You want to get the cheese mixed in but not all melted in a clump.) Repeat with the second half of the remaining cheddar.

Melt remaining 1 Tbsp butter right in your 8″x8″ casserole pan, in the oven for a few minutes or in the microwave for 30 seconds. Tilt the pan so the butter covers the bottom evenly, then spread potato mixture in pan. Sprinkle reserved cheddar on top. Cook at 400F for 20-30 minutes till cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Not terribly photogenic, especially under fluorescent lights, but deeeeelicious.

Notes:

I invented this recipe one evening at Brenda‘s when we had leftover sticky rice we wanted to use up. It was deeeeelicious, probably mainly because there is so much butter involved. But as Bonnie and Sonja are fond of reminding me (bless them both) according to Nourishing Traditions, butter is a health food! I really need to read that book one of these days.

Anyway, this is a yummy side dish. We gobbled it up with baked apricot-glazed chicken breasts and roasted asparagus. Well, most of us gobbled it up; Bug declared she didn’t like the butter rice and wanted plain sticky rice. Brenda, Annalie, Elliora and I were all fine with that since it meant more butter rice for us!

All measurements are approximations because I didn’t measure anything when I made it. But I think this is the kind of recipe you can adjust to your own liking, anyway. Please note that you really should be using butter, not margarine. Margarine is NOT a health food, and—perhaps more importantly—it’s not nearly as delicious as butter. If you cannot eat dairy, by all means use coconut oil instead, or an equivalent amount of olive oil.

Garlicky Butter-Thyme Rice
Serves 4-6

• 3-4 cups cooked rice
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 Tbsp butter (or coconut oil)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried thyme
• sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

In a medium stock pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. (The olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter and helps prevent burning.) Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and saute briefly, till it smells delicious and garlicky.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the rice. Cook stir for a few minutes, till the rice is all coated with oil/butter and there are no large clumps left.

Add the broth (and dried thyme leaves, if that’s what you’re using) and turn heat down. Cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, till almost all the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove from heat and add fresh thyme leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let sit another five minutes or so before serving.

Troy and I made these for a late dinner last night, and they probably took twice as long to assemble and bake as they did to eat. But they were so delicious we didn’t even care. And then we made them again for dinner tonight.

Black-Bean Oven Nachos

• tortilla chips—preferably scoops*
• salsa
• can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• sliced black olives
• chopped avocado
• grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese*
• minced cilantro

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup because scrubbing melted cheese off metal is no fun.

Place as many chips as you want on the foil-lined baking sheet. It’s okay if they’re touching but try not to let them overlap. The point of these is that each chip is a little individual serving.

Spoon a bit of salsa into each scoop. Add a few black beans, one or two sliced olives, a chunk of avocado, and a sprinkle of grated cheese to each scoop. Sprinkle cilantro over the top of the whole shebang.

Stick in the oven and check every 5 minutes till the cheese is melted.

Notes
* We used baked tortilla scoops for the chips to make it easier to load them with good stuff, but regular flat chips would work too. It just might be a little trickier to keep the toppings on.
* I know the cheese that comes already grated in the bag is easy, but please don’t use it. There’s cornstarch on it to keep it from sticking together but it doesn’t melt very well.
* The way we made these, they’re vegetarian. But if you wanted to cook some ground beef with chopped onion and minced garlic and season it with cumin and chili powder, and then put a spoonful on each chip, I wouldn’t stop you.

Note: I interviewed Annalie for this post back in February or March, wrote it up and added photos and everything, and then…got stalled. What stalled me? I needed to take one photo of a self-portrait drawing Annalie did that was hanging in my kitchen. That is my life right now: I’m going in a million directions all the time and couldn’t even manage to take a photo—of something I see every day—for months. Sheesh.

What is your name?

Annalie.

How old are you?

Six.

Where do you live?

Washington, D.C. Well, actually we live in [Town], [State].

Do you have any pets?

Yes.

Wanna tell me about them?

Yes. I have two pet cats. Their names are Katy and Lily, and they’re very sweet. They’re both girls, and Katy really likes to spend time with me; Lily, not so much. But Lily really likes it when I scratch her belly!

Who do you like to play with?

I like to play with Bug, and Suki and Amber, and I like to play with Gabby and Annie. Sometimes I like to play with Mackenzie. She isn’t as rough as some kids. Also Christa and Cassie and Jack and Morgan and Dylan. And Daddy! I like to play with Daddy, and Elliora.

What’s your favorite cereal?

Hmmm…Lucky Charms!

What’s your favorite vegetable?

I like carrots because they’re good plain and with ranch, and also good cooked. I also like peas; they taste good plain and cooked. This is an odd thing to tell people, but I also like peas sometimes in ranch dressing. It’s good, you should try it!

What’s your favorite drink?

I like…lemonade, and I like root beer, and sometimes chocolate milk. Oh, and I like Kool-Aid! Ah, the sweet taste of Kool-Aid.

What’s your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid?

Fruit punch. For the record, I really like the kind you drop in the little tablet and you see it fizz up and evolve into the whole drink!

What’s your favorite snack?

Strawberry cream cheese roll-up, and crackers and cheese. I like simple kinds of crackers, like Club Crackers or Ritz, and cheddar cheese.

What’s your favorite toy?

I like a lot of toys, that’s hard!

Well, I just remembered I need to put the cookie dough in the fridge. Hang on a sec.

That’s good, I can think about it for a minute then.

Okay, did you think of a favorite toy?

I did think of a type of toy I really like, but it’s not really a specific toy. I like toys you can play with in pools like goggles and flippers. I especially like goggles because you can put them on and see underwater!

What’s your favorite TV Show?

Wild Kratts. And I like Johnny Test, Pokemon, Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents, Chuck, and Dragonball Z-Kai. Did you write all those down?

What’s your favorite movie?

I like Tangled, and I also like Space Chimps.

What’s your favorite game?

Angry Birds. And I also like, um…the game I almost always play with Daddy, the car-racing game. It’s one where you can drive anywhere, like off-road and up the mountains, and you can do leaps. Sometimes you can feel it in the game controller when you jump off things! It’s kind of funny.

What’s your favorite book?

The Boxcar Children. It starts out a bit sad, but then it ends really happy. And one of the girls’ names is Violet, which is my sister Elliora’s middle name!

What’s your favorite restaurant?

Ooh, I like a lot of restaurants. That one in Omaha we go to a lot, what’s it called?

Wheatfields, the one with the fountains?

No, the one we go to with Uncle Ben a lot, where sometimes we can get balloon animals?

Oh, Spaghetti Works?

Yeah, Spaghetti Works! And I like Wheatfields too. They have fondue, and the big paintings, and the fountain! I love that place. Maybe we could go there for my actual birthday dinner, since we’ll be in Omaha?

Sure, we can do that.

(We did!)

Can we get cheese fondue?

Yes we can.

I love that! I cannot get enough of that.

What’s your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday iiiiiizzz…Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas. Because on Christmas you sometimes get to go sledding, and you get Advent calendars, and you get to open presents right away in the morning, even in your pajamas! And on Valentine’s Day, sometimes you get Valentines and gifts, and you can make cookies. And on Easter you get to go Easter-egg hunting. Sometimes on Easter my mommy gets me and Dad special baskets, and she’ll probably get a little basket for Elliora this year too.

What’s your favorite animal?

Horses. I like horses.

If you could change your name, what name would you choose?

I would choose…[thinking]…Crystal! It’s a pretty name, isn’t it?

What do you love about each person in our family?

I love that Elliora is a cute baby, and I’m glad that Katy and Lily are nice and gentle and they love me. And I’m glad that Daddy is a funny guy and he almost always tickles me, it’s so fun. And I’m glad that Mommy’s cooking is delicious, and she is really good at making me birthday cakes. They taste the best when they’re made by my mom—not just any old mom, MY mom.

Aw, thanks. I’m happy you like my cakes.

And remember that one time you made those mini pumpkin cheesecakes? Those were soooo good.

Thanks!

And I’m glad that Aurora is one year old and she’s cute and adorable and can walk now! I’m glad she’s my cousin. I can’t wait till the next time I get to see her!

What do you love most about yourself?

Well, that’s hard.

Why, because you like so many things about yourself?

No, because if I say things I like about myself, it’s sort of like I’m saying, “I’m pretty and you’re not!”

You mean like bragging?

Yeah. I just don’t think it would be very polite, would it?

Well, there’s a difference between bragging and just saying things you’re good at.

I guess so.

So is there anything you think you’re good at or that you like about yourself that you can say without bragging?

I think I’m good at making pancakes. I’m a good cook, when I have help from you. And I’m good at coloring, and I’m also good at playing Angry Birds.

Where would you like to go on vacation this year?

Hawaii.

Well, we’re not gonna make it to Hawaii this year. But I think we are going to visit Erin and Rocco in Oregon, how does that sound?

Good!

What are some of your wishes for this year?

This year I wanna have a Zoobles treehouse. And I wish I could see Niagara Falls! That would be the funnest thing in the entire world. And I want to lose more teeth! Another one is loose, I think.

Thanks for the interview, Annalie!

You’re welcome, Mama.

Annalie’s self-portrait, age 6y8m

Inspiration for this interview originally came from New Year’s Interview for Kids at Blissfully Domestic (via The Crafty Crow).

I did this interview in 2009 and 2010 too, though I published them in a much more timely manner both those times.

Thanks to my mom, Troy and I had the opportunity to go see Super 8 on Friday night all by ourselves. (The movie was excellent. We recommend it.) The theater we went to has two unusually long escalators that go from the ground floor up to the third floor where half the theaters are located.

My Day 7 alternate. Mmmmm, chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake… (via smitten kitchen)

Annalie intended to take her self-portrait on Day 7 with the new bear she got at Build-A-Bear, but she didn’t get around to it and then Troy and I went out on a date with no kids and I forgot to remind her. So I took this photo of her sleeping with her new bear next to her. Cheating? Yes. Forgiveable? I hope so.

That’s another 7 Days week!

I am thinking about the six baby blankets I want to make in the next three months. Two of them are already in progress. Am I insane to think I can manage that? We shall see.

I am thankful for everything, really. I feel like I whine and complain a lot these days, but I know how blessed I am. I have the luxury of being annoyed when the signal I’m using to access the internet as we drive down I-95 blips out for a second. My problems could be so much bigger, and they’re not. #diamondshoes

I am wearing a nightgown. But that’s boring, so instead I’ll tell you about two things I wore today which you may also find boring unless you are a breastfeeding mother. Feel free to skip ahead if you’re bored already.

I’ve been searching for the perfect nursing shirt for, oh, seven years, really. I think I may have finally found it: the nursing criss-cross tee from Momzelle. My main problem with most nursing shirts is that I have broad shoulders and a wide ribcage, but I’m not, shall we say, overly endowed in the chestal area—not even when I’m nursing. So shirts that fit my shoulders and torso completely droop down my front and show my bra to the world. Shirts that are more modest fit me like cling wrap, which is neither flattering nor comfortable. So I’m fairly excited to have finally found a shirt that (a) fits my proportions, (b) is comfortable and cute, and (b) is easy to nurse in. Huzzah!

The other thing I was wearing today that might interest you if you’re a nursing mother or plan on spending a lot of time holding a baby is this turquoise nursing necklace from the Etsy shop My Lil Market. I had a couple of nursing necklaces when Annalie was a baby, but they were more of the bright-tacky-plastic variety. This one is so pretty, I will probably be wearing it long after Elliora has stopped nursing. But I’ll definitely keep wearing it now because Elliora loved it. She spent several hours today playing with the beads and shoving different parts of it in her mouth. Not surprising, really; I’m sure this string of beads and stones is far more enticing than the specifically-designed-to-interest-a-baby necklaces I used to have, because babies always reject their fun toys in favor of the forbidden grown-up things, don’t they?

I am remembering that tomorrow, in addition to being my nephew Brett’s birthday, is also my other sister-in-law’s wedding anniversary and the anniversary of the day my mom, my brother and I were all baptized.

I am going to brush my teeth. Be right back.

I am currently reading I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away, by Bill Bryson. This is another one I’m re-reading. Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors—partly because he’s hilarious in a nerdy, befuddled, self-deprecating way that just rings my bell; and partly because he once sent me a letter in reply to one I’d written him—and reading his books is kind of like eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes or homemade macaroni and cheese. It’s comfort food for my brain and soul.

I am hoping that our drive home tomorrow goes as well as the 4.5-hour drive down did. Elliora slept for a total of three hours and change, played with a toy or looked out the window for another hour, and only cried for a few minutes right after lunch and about 15 minutes at the tail end of the trip. Fingers crossed.

On my mind: Samantha and her parents.

Noticing that Annalie is almost as tall as I am. I picked her up today for the first time in a while and was kind of shocked how big she seemed. I’m sure part of that is because these days I’m usually carrying Elliora, but still.

Around the house we have way too much stuff. Troy and I were just talking yesterday about how we’re overdue for a good clearing-out and getting-rid-of. Usually we do that as we unpack after a move, but maybe we’ll do it before we move this time.

In the kitchen, I am spending a lot more time lately. (Yoda, I sound like.) Elliora loves to eat. Like, she LOVES to eat. I am happy to make most of her food but it means I’m spending quite a bit more time in the kitchen lately, feeding her as well as cooking for her. I don’t really mind a bit, though. It’s so fun to feed a baby who likes everything we’ve offered her.
Applesauce (with and without cinnamon), mashed bananas, oatmeal, mixed-grain cereal, carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, peas, green beans, spinach, pears, peaches, mango, avocado, refried beans, broccoli, rice, beef, turkey, ham, blueberries, pumpkin, watermelon, chicken, black olive, bacon, cheddar cheese, goat cheese, plain yogurt, mashed potatoes with garlic, Cheerios, asparagus…I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Seriously, she likes everything.)

One of my favorite things is finding awesome new TV shows to watch, and then geeking out over them with friends.

From my photo archive: Speaking of Elliora eating, here is a picture of her (on the right) eating carrots at 5 months old. Annalie (on the left) was about a year old when this picture was taken in June 2005, and was eating Spaghetti-Os.

My friend Bonnie decided on her birthday this year that she would take a picture every day of something that made her happy, to remind herself in the midst of a difficult time to Find the Happy. She decided to create a Flickr group so her friends could share the happy too.

Finding a bit of Happy each day.

The rules:

1. Find some Happy and photograph it each day. You could choose to do it less often if that works better for your life but my theory is that the more often you look for the Happy, the more the Happy helps.
2. Do it for a year. Or less. Or more. Or as needed.
3. No Unhappy allowed. That also includes self-abuse if you miss a day or lots of days. Hippie voice: Go with the flow, man. Everything is as it should be.
4. Rules are for breaking. Except Number 3, it’s best not to upset Hippie Voice.

My heart has been heavy lately, thinking about Samantha. So I’m reminding myself of some happy things.

I don’t know about you, but homemade black-and-white cookies make me very happy.

So does the cool way the sun was reflecting off this dotty coffee mug. Like little bubbles of sunlight!

I happened to glance at Annalie’s calendar a day or two before Troy’s birthday and was tickled to realize that she had drawn a miniature portrait of our family on that date, complete with him in a party hat.

I love it when I get a teeny painting of a harried-looking coffee-drinking cat in the mail. Thanks, Brenda!

French toast with powdered sugar on a sunshiny dottery plate.

Keeping a baby alive and homeschooling a 7-year-old are both time-consuming pursuits (duh), but while I barely have time to shower and I don’t seem to have time for housework, I manage to cook dinner almost every night and write emails and blog posts (sort of) and I’ve been crocheting a lot. So I guess it’s true that you do make time for what you love. And crocheting makes me happy.

I’m sure that in a year or so I’ll be hearing many cries of “Mo-ooom, make her stop touching my stuff!” So I try extra hard to enjoy the sweet moments like this, when it’s clear how much Annalie loves her little sister.

On one of Troy’s Navy deployments years ago, he happened to go to a wine festival in Cyprus, and he brought back two of these little glasses. They’re the perfect size for a shot of juice or taking a packet of Emergen-C, and it makes me smile each time I use one. It’s such a random thing to have in my cupboard, small wineglasses from a Cypriot wine festival, yet there they are.

I went to high school and college with Rainbow Rowell. (I know, awesome name!) She wasn’t someone I hung out with, but we knew each other. We had mutual friends, and when we went to the same university we occasionally ate lunch together. I’ve been reading Rainbow’s writing for two decades now, mostly in newspaper-column or blog-post form, but now I’ve read something way more exciting: Rainbow’s very first novel, a romantic comedy called Attachments. The night I started reading it, I actually got out of bed at 3:30am, feeling compelled to send Rainbow a message to let her know I was loving her book and was genuninely happy for and proud of her. (I’ll be interviewing Rainbow soon and doing a giveaway of her book in a blog post, so stay tuned for that!)

The sun was shining into Annalie’s room just right one afternoon so that her bright fuchsia sheets were reflecting a pink glow onto everything else in the room. A few days later, Annalie picked this bouquet of wildflowers, leaves of grass, and a wild strawberry from our yard for me and arranged them in an old vanilla bottle.

The first Saturday that Sonja was here, Karyl & her girls came up to spend the day with us, which was super fun. We started with brunch—aebleskiver and home-fried potatoes and bacon and fruit—which made me very happy because I love brunch. Also, I made the aebleskiver with almond milk and coconut oil and maple syrup (in place of cow’s milk and butter and granulated sugar) so Sonja could eat them, and they were totally as delicious as usual. It was a Very Happy Thing indeed: brunch everyone could eat!

Sonja-safe brownies, made with coconut oil instead of butter and honey instead of sugar. And they tasted good! Yay! I had fun meeting the challenge of cooking without ingredients I usually rely on while Sonja was here.

I love it when naps end like this, with Elliora waking up in the Ergo and smiling when she sees me.

If I have to put up with hot and humid summer weather, at least I get to eat perfectly summery meals like this: grilled mini burgers, strawberries, and marinated cucumber salad. Yum.

After seeing Lauren’s Doctor Who necklace on Flickr, I stalked this Etsy shop until she listed more so I could buy one for myself. I like how the high-top sneaker is a reference to the Chucks habitually worn by both the Tenth Doctor and Chuck Bartowski.

We often make popcorn with the very air-popper that I used when I was a kid, and eat it out of the exact stainless-steel bowl I used to eat popcorn from. (My mom was getting rid of the air popper and asked if I wanted it; I basically swiped the bowl because I loved it so much. Both these things are 30+ years old.)

Trader Joe’s dark chocolate bar with caramel bar and black sea salt. Enough said.

We live near a good bakery and stop there on a regular basis for treats. Every time, Annalie carefully surveys the variety of lovely, fancy cookies and pastries…and then requests a plain butter cookie. I love that.

I believe we’ve mentioned before that our neighbors across the street actually own a bounce house? They put it up for birthdays and parties and random weekends just for fun. And they are happy to share it with the neighborhood kids.

Rain always makes me happy.

Neon aquamarine polish, and bare feet outside, and green grass, and bits of sidewalk chalk. Basically, summer’s here!