WHY RASPBERRIES AND LIZARDS DON'T MIX

I turned on the porch light late last night in hopes of catching Minty sleeping on his favorite peppermint leaf as he'd been doing the past couple of nights. I walked outside and looked. I didn't see him. I checked again a few minutes later. Still no sign of Minty...anywhere. My husband reassured me that he'd be back in the morning. I'm not a child, but I know he was trying to make me feel better. The truth, I feared, was that Minty was not coming back.

The girls discovered him on Wednesday night lounging on a leaf of my peppermint plant. We all sat down on the patio chairs in the backyard looking up at the tiny (perhaps newly hatched) lizard and I asked my girls what they wanted to name it. "I don't know", came the shrug from my 5-year old. I suggested "Minty" since they found him on the plant, but Cinnamon wanted to name him "Lulu". Saffron also liked Minty and we went with that. I told my middle daughter that the next lizard will be named Lulu.

I'm guessing that Minty was a product of these two...

Photo taken on 1.April 2012.My husband and I were fascinated (ok, me more than him) with the baby lizard and wondered what he ate since he looked to be starved - evidenced from his ribs showing through his skin. I turned to the Internet for basic answers to the questions we had: What kind of lizard is it? What does it eat? Do the parents nurture the babies?

I first determined that Minty was an anole lizard. Then I found out that those lizards ate live bugs. Sadly, the parents abandon the eggs and do not provide any sort of nurturing to their young. We had to take over and nurture this baby lizard...or did we? We had no intention of moving the lizard from its outdoor habitat, rather wanting to help it get some much needed food in its undernourished belly.

I figured the best way to attract ants and small flies was to place something sweet in the potted peppermint plant. I added a piece of baked plum (from the focaccia I made on Thursday), a lemon wedge, and two raspberries. Later that evening, I noticed all of those items were missing - traces of raspberry seeds on the step below the pot. Nobody moved them. Nobody, but perhaps that squirrel I saw this morning poking it's head in my peppermint plant.

Lesson learned? Don't mess with nature and don't mix raspberries with lizards. We simply wanted to help bring "food" to the lizard so that he didn't starve to death. "Survival of the fittest" will take over without a human's need to intervene.

I like to think that Minty ran off to the lush green lizard habitat under our window after being scared off by the squirrel, joining his parents and a host of other lizards - including "Dragon", a very large and fat lizard of a different species. Perhaps Minty will return one day...or perhaps that is simply wishful thinking.

COFFEE AND A PEN - ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

Happy Saturday! Welcome to an ever evolving Coffee and a Pen.

It was another busy week with school coming to an end, signing up my oldest for first grade, and getting the house in order for weekend guests. 

SATURDAY:  I spent most of Saturday afternoon working on a new feature on my blog – KITCHEN NOTES: Recipe Development – which started with a simple Flourless Chocolate Torte.

SUNDAY:  The girls went with Papa to the year-end party at Saffi's friend's house while Sagey and I went grocery shopping. Yes, that's my boy in his sister's dress, shoes, and a hair clip. He had a lot of fun driving in, what the girls call, the "baby car".

MONDAY:  After 8 years of watching House, the end has come. The series is over. I remember my first time watching the show when I lived in San Francisco on Treasure Island and explaining to my (now) husband about a cool new show featuring a sarcastic doctor. Eight years later, we sat together and watched the two-hour series finale tonight - the first hour documenting the production of the show and all of the people involved in the creation of such a long-playing series. While most people might find that boring, I actually find that tremendously fascinating. Why? Most people might watch a show just for the sake of watching a show, but hardly realize all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a television show.

Today's food creations included two different smoothies. The first, a banana smoothie with lemon zest and the second, a berry smoothie with lemon zest.

TUESDAY:  I discovered a new blog through a Facebook link via coolinarika.com. Later that afternoon, I wrote a post in response to a seemingly unreceptive few on my Facebook page who decided to "Unlike" my page and unfriend me. It's true, you can't please everyone all of the time.

WEDNESDAY:  Today was the last day of school for both of my girls – Cinnamon finishing her first year at preschool and Saffron finishing kindergarten. I had a busy morning running around at the last minute getting together the German chocolates and Haribo gummy bears for her classmates. I'm sure Saffron does not fully realize what a significant day this was and that she will be moving away from the friends she once knew for nine long months and meeting new ones in a new school later this August.

THURSDAY:  Anyone who knows me knows that I despise filling out forms of any kind. Today, I filled out several pages of forms - twice. I signed up Saffron for first grade and went to a wellness center for alternative chiropractic care for my back that went out yesterday.

We ate out tonight (something that happens only a handful of times a year) at NXNW and sat in the back where a band played and where my boy got himself and the girls CDs from Rick by agreeing to be part of a dance train while the band played. Mostly he did it because I promised him chocolate. Yes, Cinnamon did go out dressed in that pink fairy outfit and all three kids had blinky shoes which attracted much attention.

"...do not do anything revengey until I get there" - so said Nolan to Emily (real Amanda) on tonight's season 1 finale of Revenge when she discovered that fake Amanda was back and pregnant. As I watched the finale, I discovered a new song by an English band I haven't heard of before tonight. I admit I had reservations when the show first came on, initially watching online while I sat to knit hats (mostly as a background distraction), but the show turned out to be quite intriguing with the plot twists throughout. “Seven Devils” has a dark mood and fit beautifully to the final scenes (starting at 37:22 to 40:48) with the plane coming into view and ending with Nolan ariving at Emily's to tell her the shocking news he discovered.  Anyone notice how Conrad had a different glass in his hand (from the brandy glass he had at the fireplace) as he walked into Charlotte’s room? In my opinion, it would have been more dramatic had Conrad dropped his glass on the floor instead of gently setting it on Charlotte's nightstand.

"Seven devils all around you

Seven devils in my house

See they were there when I woke up this morning

I'll be dead before the day is done" The chorus

FRIDAY:  My husband didn't have work today, so he joined us on our weekly grocery shopping trip to downtown Austin. It's always an adventure - and a bit of frustration - when going shopping with kids this age. Then again, they're only this young once in a lifetime. Cherish those little things, no matter how frustrating, because before you know it, your 3-year old, 4-year old, and 5-year old will be teenagers with unique challenges of their own. Welcome Summer!

LIGHTEN UP

In this Seussian world of competing to be noticed ("Look at me!" "Look at me!" "Look at me NOW!" - Cat in the Hat), we oftentimes take ourselves far too seriously - myself included. In order to lighten things up, we turn to something that makes up happier, such as humour. It can be in the form of comics, tv sitcoms, or any other form of comedy, but ultimately it is something that makes up stop and laugh, turning a frown upside down. Unfortunately, some people just don't have a sense of humour, confusing what one person says as a personal attack towards them.

Last night I came across a new Twitter profile that made me stop and laugh. It made me laugh because it was true, but not necessarily in a hurtful way. It, laughter, was something I desperately needed after experiencing much frustration over this past year, in particular. I then shared this profile and a few of my favorite tweets on my Facebook page and, so far, had 4 people "Unlike" my business page and 1 "Friend" unfriend me on my personal page. I'm ok with that. You're not hurting me or my feelings. In fact, it made me smile. :) Why? Somebody noticed. Also, if you really were a true friend, you'd know where I'm coming from and would laugh alongside me.

Laugh, don't jump to conclusions and assume the worst about someone. Stop for a second and think what that person might be going through. Chances are, it's not too different from your situation...a spouse unhappy with his current job, but needing to stay in order to feed his family; a stay-at-home mom trying to make a difference while venturing into a few creative outlets, but not getting anywhere with anything; children wanting attention from those unhappy, tired, and frustrated parents who, sadly, see their constant pleas as an annoyance. 

Take notice of those little things that are often overlooked. Savour that breath of fresh air, that rare sunny day of being able to sit outside, the innocent smiles on your childrens' faces. As annoying as their pleas might be at times, they are your future and you have the ability to show them that it is fine to be frustrated but it's also good to lighten up and enjoy the life you're given. You have only one chance to make a difference.

Life is too short not to have a sense of humour. If you can't laugh at yourself or the funny things in life, you might as well be dead.

COFFEE AND A PEN

Coffee and a Pen is back!

This week has been a very busy one, as have the past two months. It was the last full week of school before the end of the school year next Wednesday and I very much look forward to a slower schedule with less running around and living in a minivan, as it seems at times.

The highlight this week was my son's 3rd birthday on Wednesday and his deciding to quit gymnastics on Monday. He simply refused to enter the gym room, crying and not wanting to go back. I can hardly believe that my little baby is now a little boy who will start school later this year. He's already drawing - the primitive drawing of a child. This is his first drawing of me:

Sagey's first human drawing

I remember when Saffron started drawing like that and how both her drawings and coloring abilities have changed, including staying within the lines (she saw me posting Sagey's drawing and wanted me to post something of hers...not a drawing, but showing her love of coloring):

Cinnamon was sick for most of the week, starting last weekend. She spiked a high fever, at times over 102 degrees, and her neck was so sore with swollen lymphnodes that she cried when anyone touched it. She appears to be all better since yesterday, back to her needing Bandaids every five minutes (inside joke). :)

This past Monday, I found a great recipe for lemon sugar cookies that looks delicious. I love lemons and use a lot of lemon zest. Sometimes I feel sorry for all of those skinless lemons still sitting in my refrigerator. Last week, I came across variegated pink lemons (last photo below). I've never even heard of these before then and just had to buy five of them. The skins of the lemons are so beautiful that I still haven't brought myself to use a zester to them.

A few highlights from last week... Last Friday, I made Martha Stewart's Triple-Citrus Cupcakes for Saffi's belated half-birthday celebration at school. If I remember correctly, this is the third time I've ever made cupcakes and I'm still not "into" them. It's not the fact that I simply don't like the typical American frosting (nor do my kids, thankfully), but perhaps that I have yet to find a recipe that works for my taste. I'm in the early stages of developing my own version. Despite that, the kids at Saffi's school loved these cupcakes and said they were the best they've ever had. Saffi mentioned that they loved the "frosting" the best with the lime zest "sprinkles". When I was putting on the lime zest, my daughter asked, "Are you pretending those are sprinkles?". 

The middle photo above was a promising vanilla layer cake I tried from a new cookbook I purchased earlier this year. It was the first recipe I tried from Bea's book and it was an utter failure. The taste of the batter was great. However, I wasn't too happy to see it overflowing and spilling onto the oven floor - smoking and almost causing the fire alarms to sound. I'm starting to wonder just how much testing is involved in recipes these days. Even though the book called for an 8" cake pan, I kept thinking, "This just doesn't seem right." I should have listened to that little voice telling me to use a larger cake pan. Even after 35 minutes, the batter was still soupy and thus ended up being poured down the drain. What a shame.

Yesterday, I discovered a new baking project in the blog world. It's a monthly bake-a-long and this month's project is focaccia. I plan on making both a sweet and savory version. For the savory version, I'm planning on using carmelized onions. I recall coming across this article about the lies in most recipes about the length of time it takes to carmelize onions. I agree, the process takes much longer than the generally stated 10-15 minutes. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of onions, but the wait is definitely worth it. My husband introduced me to his version of "fried" onions on the barbeque grill. They are absolutely amazing, particularly as a side with some filet mignon with fresh herb butter.

More links coming next week. I leave you with two of my favorite mugs (so far) that I've added to my collection and a slice of Sagey's birthday cake. Enjoy your weekend!

THREE

My Sage...you turned 3 today! Your day started out as it did three years ago, with your choosing to sleep in...

You were born 14 days past your due date and had it not been for the castor oil, I would have had to go to the hospital instead of giving birth to you drug-free at the same birthing center where your sisters were born and delivered by the same midwife, Roswitha. She said that your birth aged her 10 years. Eventually, you came into this world and into our lives, joining your two older sisters - Saffron and Cinnamon (affectionately known at school as the Spice Girls).

Along the way, you've grown into a loving, caring, considerate, kind, and self-sufficient little boy who loves to eat anything sweet - especially cake. For your first two birthdays, I made hazelnut torte, but this year Papa thought that we should make Grossi's walnut torte. You didn't end up eating it all, although you did devour the hazelnut torte, which I'm guessing you prefer more.

The first three birthdays

Papa bought you several models of the Fischertechnik toys that he had as a child. Your favorite one so far is the plane. Of course, your sister Saffron immediately adopted the toys as her own.

You then opened up the new Lego Duplo set - Photo Safari (as if you three already don't have enough Legos) - and played with that while we got ready to eat cake.

Your sister Seena (Cinnamon) still wasn't feeling well (she's on the green couch in the background in the above photos), but I'm sure she'll enjoy playing with you and your new toys and reading your two new books - Petunia and Harold's Fairy Tale. We all sat outside and enjoyed your birthday cake and a warm Spring evening.

Although I didn't manage to get you all together for a sibling photo outside, I did take one of you three playing a Lego game on Papa's iPad at bedtime. How things have changed since your Papa and I grew up. There were no iDevices of any kind which dominated our world, but the opportunities to connect to anyone, anywhere, at any time is all there in your little hands - if used wisely.

Happy birthday my Sagey!