A BUSY WEEK

This week is proving to be one of the busiest ones in a while. Last night I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish up my daughter Saffron's school project. Actually it was a two-part project: a bio board plus a write-up for the Ben E. Bear visit.

COFFEE AND A PEN

Happy Saturday morning! Welcome to another week of Coffee and a Pen. I've decided to change up the format a bit and include a triptych for each day as a visual reminder of what was going on throughout the week.

This week has been a challenging one to say the least and tonight we will be picking up Papa from the airport. Late tonight. So, I still have lots to do, most of which will not get done. Grocery shopping might just have to wait until tomorrow morning when I can sneak out of the house alone and come back with most of the week's groceries before the rest of the family wakes up - which, I'm suspecting, will not be until I return. If you have more than one child, you'll know exactly what I mean. Every day is a Calgon moment - yes, take me away!

Last Saturday morning, the kids and I fed the squirrels, listened to Duran Duran’s “All You Need Is Now” during breakfast, and got ready to go to a birthday party for Saffi’s classmate which was held at a gymnastics place not too far from our house. The kids had a lot of fun running around, swinging on the rope swing into a pile of rectangular foam pieces, and jumping on the trampolines. Since I noticed that Saffi expressed such a great interest in gymnastics (and since it took me back to when I used to be in gymnastics), I signed her up the following Monday.  Before we left for the party, Saffi took great care to make a card, complete with flower cutouts, and even wrapped the present all by herself.

The rest of the day was spent photographing Abate Fetel pears which are still firm and sitting on the counter. I'm thinking of making this pear tart today - if I have the time. I had purchased this white rum a few weeks back for a recipe that called for white rum. In the meantime, I had forgotten where I'd seen the recipe until earlier this week when I realized that the tart recipe could have been the one. I'm still thinking there was another cake recipe that called for white rum, and hopefully I'll find it. The day also involved cleaning the pollen from the flagstone patio so that we could eat Sunday breakfast outside.

In the evening, I came across this photographer as mentioned by Simon Le Bon.

Sunday started late, with my developing a new pancake recipe - Banana Coconut Almond Pancakes. I wanted to use the coconut flour I purchased a few days earlier and also wanted to use lime and almond flour, in addition to whole wheat pastry flour. Two of the three kids liked it - the middle one didn't. The reason I don't make pancakes too often is my aversion to the lingering smell of fried oil and most things fried - which also means I'm not a fan of doughnuts, fries, or any kind of fast food. So, I'm thinking of converting the recipe into a baked cake and see how that turns out.

I spent the rest of my Sunday afternoon in the warm Texas sun, raking the endless leaves in our tiny backyard while the children played. It's amazing how much mess one tree can make. Speaking of messes...I had only a few diapers left and decided that I was not buying anymore for Sagey. It was the second start of potting training (we started last year before Summer - then did not continue). After the kids went to bed, I did happen to spend a few minutes online and discovered another new blog.  It was this cake that caught my attention.

Monday morning was a blur as I gathered the children in time for a quick breakfast before heading to school. After dropping the girls off at school, Sagey and I went to babyGap so that he could pick out some new underwear - an incentive for him to lose his dependence on diapers. He will be 3 in May and will start school in August, which means it's time for him to use the potty on a regular basis - without the constantly screaming. His choice was underwear with sharks and other sea creatures.

When we got home, I spent some time searching for more inspiring links. The first one that I came across was for a writing challenge. It will be interesting to be "forced" to write on a daily basis. Then I came across this wonderfully researched post on mixing methods for perfecting your desserts. Russell has some amazing desserts on his site that I cannot wait to try! I also came across two delicious dessert recipes: Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake and Pots de Creme .

Spring is here, which means that new fruits and vegetables are the highlight of this season. Artichokes are one of them and this recipe takes full advantage of them.

Then Bea posted a link to an article on bilingual study and the benefits of being bilingual. I'm glad we're teaching our children three languages.

After school, Saffi had her first (free) gymnastics class and I sat upstairs in the waiting area (where we had birthday cake this past Saturday) watching her first stretch before she moved over to the balance beam and uneven bars. I admit I was a bit afraid for her on the beams (there were four different heights) - particularly the tallest one. I still remember the time in high school when I was attempting a cartwheel on the balance beam and my hand missed the beam. The next thing I remember was lying on the floor laughing hysterically and listening to people asking me if I was alright. I did not end up staying in the hospital nor did I get a cast, as the injury would have required a body cast. I simply got a sling and was told not to move my arm. Admitedly, my daughter is starting much younger than I ever did, but as a parent I still worry. I am very much looking forward to seeing her progress over the new few months. Her sister is already asking when she can go. After we returned home, the kids played outside in the warm afternoon sun and we enjoyed a delicious strawberry banana smoothie - a much healthier alternative to ice cream.

Tuesday found me wanting to stay in bed. However, I managed to get Saffi to school. Seena doesn't go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she stayed home with Sagey and they slept for most of the morning after we returned home. I searched for some inspiration and came across several noteworthy links. The first two were dessert (yes, I love making desserts) recipes: Apricot Cake and Lemon Sandwich Cookies. I then found a great savory potato cake recipe for dinner and a link to the first edible cookbook as designed by Germans. Two new blogs were also discovered - The Kitchen Inc and Kinfolk. I love the beautiful video on Kinfolk's Manifesto section.

The rest of the day, after picking up Saffi from school, was spent lying in bed and waiting for the day to be over and the next to start.

Wednesday...still not feeling great and was tempted to keep the kids home as I was simply too tired and still under the weather. Speaking of weather, we had a light rain and the overall mood was gloomy - something I tend to like.

I came across "Project Lunch Box" and this great cake recipe as well as an interesting post on copycats in the world of food blogging and a stirring discussion brought about by this post asking whether food blogging is on its way out.

The afternoon brought about a little ray of kindness from a stranger.

Thursday, I thought about a question raised by Jon. The question he posed on Twitter was, "If you died tomorrow, would any of your readers give a damn?". My response was, "Probably not. Then again, I'd be dead so I wouldn't have to worry about it. As long as my family had something to look back on." I was referring to my blog where I write about things that happen in my life and not for the sake of blog hits or comments. In my eyes, it is a living journal - a way for my children to see what was going on during a certain time in our lives.

We tend to forget many of the little things that happen on a day-to-day basis. Thus, keeping a journal online along with photographs is a great way for us to look back and realize all that we experienced, even if at times it seems that we did nothing at all.

to be continued...

3 Reasons Why Frequent Blog Posting Is Not A Senseless Strategy

Since the proliferation of blogs in late 1999, opinions are divided as to the posting frequency that people should have on their blogs. The popular school of thought advises us to post daily. The other view implies that it’s silly to do so, with the proponents looking down upon the followers of the frequently posting crowd.

In a recent post I came across this week, the author notes three reasons why posting daily is a senseless strategy. Those three reasons include the destruction of “social proof”, diminished bond with the readers, and the risk that some people will simply unsubscribe from your email list. Personally, I tend to disagree and follow the school of thought that advises one to post more regularly – even if it is a short entry. Here’s why.

Let’s consider the definition of the term “blog". According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a blog is defined as “a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer”. Now consider the definition of the term “journal” which, according to Wikipedia, is “a daily record of events or business”. That said, one could hardly argue that the true definition of a blog is one where you would post infrequently. According to those definitions, quite the opposite is true.

At one point or another, some of us might have kept physical journals (known as “diaries”) of our day-to-day lives. We take our special pen in hand, open our leather journal, and perhaps start our entry with “Dear Diary”, followed by a happy, sad, frustrating, or seemingly mundane occurrence of the day. It becomes a record of our lives which we can look back upon one day and be reminded of what was happening during a certain point in our lives - something which can easily be forgotten as time passes on.

Enter the world of online journals, otherwise known as blogs. Back in early 1999, there were only a handful of blogs. By the end of that same year, hundreds of blogs started to appear on the web. Nowadays, you can be sure to find a blog for every topic known to man with more popping up on a daily basis. Everyone seems to have one as everyone has a story to tell. What all of these blogs have in common are voices waiting to be heard.

From personal daily accounts of what one would consider commonplace, to full commentaries and in-depth research on a particular subject, online journals have transformed the way we communicate and gather our information. At any given time, you can enter a search term into the search engine of your choice and be directed to a number of blogs covering the topic you wish to research. Sometimes you come across a site you wish to follow for one reason or another. Perhaps your desire is to find a new recipe for an extraordinary dinner you’re making for that special someone in your life and you end up spending hours online, delightfully taken from one food blog to the next. More than likely, you end up finding something you might not have even considered. The words of the blogger sweep you away as you navigate through her posts, and leave you wanting to hear more of her stories – ones that have been cleverly woven around the actual recipe. You bookmark that site, hoping to hear more from the author in the near future.

You patiently wait…and wait…and wait some more. No new posts are forthcoming for a week, then two, and finally after about five weeks, another post is at last available. By then, you might have already moved on to the next “shiny object” – the next interesting blog and its author's well-crafted stories. Human nature wants new information on a regular basis. Can you imagine not having access to the Internet for even a day? We strive to see something new each morning, thumbing through our digital newspapers as the husbands of the generation before us sat at the breakfast table, newspaper in hand, ignoring their wives as they read through the news of the day.

The following are the three reasons why you should post more frequently – not necessarily on a daily basis but certainly more than once a month or once every five to six weeks.

“OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND”

With the sheer number of blogs available for one’s perusal, your blog needs to capture and retain a reader's attention. If you do not provide your readers with new content, the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality might start to take hold. Certainly, I can look at your topmost post week after week, but if you’re not providing me with anything new for over a month, you can be assured that I will quickly lose interest and move on to another blog with more frequent posts. I might even visit your blog again next month out of curiosity, but how many times can I read the exact same post that has been sitting at the top of your blog for weeks on end? Your bond with the reader has a greater chance of being severed and if one had initially subscribed to your email list, you run the risk of losing that subscriber.

IDEA FOUNTAIN

One thing that frequent posting provides is the ability to keep ideas flowing. In my high school creative writing class, one of our daily assignments was to write on one certain teacher-specified topic within a 15-minute time frame. At first, I hated that exercise. My mind wandered and I simply could not focus. At times I fought with the notion of even writing – such as the time when the question was “Which tattoo would you get and where would you put it?”. My answer was something along the lines of my not wanting to answer this particular question because I would never get a tattoo, but then I wrote that if I had to get one, it would be of a black panther on my upper left arm. I knew I had only 15 minutes to write something – anything – so I did. After several weeks, the thought process strengthened and ideas started flowing as a fountain. Writing became easier and more pleasant. Therefore, the more frequently you write, the better your content and stronger the brain muscles and self-confidence that are gained from this constant mental exercise. In time, your true voice will shine and your readers will stop to notice and will come back for more.

SELF-AWARENESS

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
― C.G. Jung

This third point builds upon the ideas generated by consistent writing as a result of introspection. Stephen King, in his book On Writing, states that he writes every day – even on Christmas, his birthday, and New Year’s Day. By taking the time to stop and reflect on your thoughts and sift through your ideas, you develop a greater awareness of not only the topics you research and write about, but yourself as well. Instead of simply going through your day mindlessly being entertained by one distraction or another, you make the effort to think for yourself and come to your own conclusions without being told what to think or feel.

For most people, blogs are a business – a way of generating an income. For others, though, a blog is a personal account of life’s short journey – a way for us and our children to look back and see all of the wonderful things we’ve accomplished and places we’ve discovered, some pleasant and others not so pleasant, and to observe how far our minds can take us through the practice of writing often.

Some posts take a considerable amount of both time and research. Others can take an hour or less, depending on your goal for the day or week. Not every post needs to be lengthy - sometimes a short paragraph or two will serve the purpose of writing in order to generate ideas and writing to increase self-awareness, which has the potential to keep your readers coming back for more.

What one person might consider “boring” might be a minefield of information for another. Not everyone wants to hear about your challenging day grocery shopping with three small children, but there might just be that one person who is comforted in knowing that she’s not the only one going through those trials of toddlerhood.

Your thoughts and views change with time and while we may have moved away from the physical diaries of the past, the opportunity is still there in electronic form. All we have to do is to take some time and write on a regular basis. An opinion is just that - life is too short not to voice yours and make a difference.

Random Act of Kindness and Fallen Berries

Never is there a dull moment with my three little ones and rarely is there a quiet day. Today was no exception.

After Sagey and I picked up the girls from school this afternoon, I took the three kids to Whole Foods intending to buy dark rye bread and Dalmatian sour cherry spread for breakfast. I didn't venture downtown, but simply went to the smaller Gateway store - which will next year, thankfully and finally, be closed and moved to its new location at The Domain. In addition to the two breakfast items, I ended up buying two 6-ounce containers of beautiful blackberries and a pound of strawberries, all of which we ended up eating for dinner tonight.

Whenever we go to Whole Foods and pass by the cheese counter, the kids always want to sample whatever cheese is on display. A kind lady noticed that the kids wanted more cheese and asked me if I knew about the Kids Club where each child can take a piece of fruit for free. I told her that I knew the downtown store had this but never saw it at the much smaller Gateway store. We went on our way. Moments later, the lady appeared with three bananas for the children - an unexpected and random act of kindness in the midst of a "challenging" shopping trip with three small children.

There was the usual pushing and fighting for space in the black police car shopping cart, the grabbing for the big box of Annie's Bunny Graham Friends as we drove past a display shelf in the tight aisle of the small store (and my having to put the box back on the shelf amidst pleas and screams), the oldest child grabbing the arm of some old man who happened to pass by and give the children a smile, the middle child licking the steering wheel of the car shopping cart and my raising my voice at her to stop it (yes, my tolerance and patience is much lower when I'm sick) while, at the same time, a helpful Sagey missed the conveyor belt as he tried putting one of the containers of blackberries on it.

Not sure what I should do, I quickly gathered the blackberries from the floor and placed them back into the container and onto the conveyor belt. "Should I have them toss the berries?", I wondered. I'm guessing that a few people might have tried to hide the container, pushing the berries aside with one foot while placing the rest of the grocery items on the belt. Others, with embarrassed looks on their faces, might have simply had the store clerk toss them. Then I thought how wasteful that was and figured it wouldn't be harmful if I gave the berries a good rinse when we got home. Besides, how many times have the kids, unbeknownst to me, eaten gummy bears, cookies, and chips that happened to fall out of their little hands and onto a dirty floor? At least in this case I was able to rinse the food. Yes, that is exactly what I did. The blackberries were really tasty and the kids and I didn't mind a bit.

So, while every day and every evening is a challenge with these three, a random act of kindness somehow makes things a little bit better. Thank you kind lady.

COFFEE AND A PEN

So, I’ve decided to keep the name "Coffee and a Pen" as the official title of this new section of my blog where I reflect upon the past week and list a few of my favorite inspirations that have come my way by chance – mostly through Twitter. Throughout the week, as I come across links, I email them to myself if I’m away from my computer and then look through them at the end of the week. With everything that goes on during the week, one has a tendency to forget all of wonderful inspirations that come our way. In a sense, this is my timesheet – a way to look back and see what inspired me on a particular day. It might be a bit different than other “favorite” lists, but I like it that way.

Happy Saturday morning! Grab a cup of coffee on this fine Saturday morning and get your pen (or keyboard) and get ready to jot down (or click) a few inspiring and interesting links. By the way, the first photo was taken seven days after the photo for my first post of “Coffee and a Pen”.

On Sunday, I came across a link to this post out of sheer coincidence as I was reading Kerianne’s post (it happened to be one of the comments that I clicked on for no apparent reason). I’m glad I did because both of those posts are a reminder to cherish even the ordinary day, to capture the moments you think might not be perfect or “photo worthy”, and to remember that the day will come when the house will no longer be a noisy mess.

Monday found me looking at this post from Tara at seven spoons which then led me to read this , which then led me to discover a Danish photographer and a Canadian photographer.

Tuesday was the first day of Spring and my oldest daughter’s first visit to the dentist. She had chipped her front tooth over the weekend (it wasn’t too bad, but still baffles me how she did it) and we went to have it checked. The dentist told us it wouldn’t affect anything and thus would not recommend doing anything about it – unless, of course, we really wanted to have it smoothed down. We didn’t since it’s one of her front teeth which will most likely fall out in the next six months to a year anyway. She did, however, have her teeth cleaned and was most excited about getting to watch cartoons as she laid back comfortable in the dentist's chair. Her little sister was excited when she heard of her older sister’s experience and now asks me on a daily basis when she can also go to the dentist.

I came across an interesting video about balancing eggs and a new site with these colorful eggs.

I also discovered wonderful cupcakes I hope to make soon, a Moroccan pantry staple (and another recipe for them ), and finally a new blog with an inspiring weight-loss story.

On Wednesday, I found another new blog and a recipe for ricotta gnocchi. I've gathered quite a few gnocchi recipes in the past three weeks.

Thursday was another visit to the dentist…this time it was me. Honestly, I cannot remember my last trip to the dentist (perhaps 20 years ago?), but it must have been after a similar unpleasant deep cleaning which scared me away. That, and shying away from x-rays due to the fact that I was either pregnant or trying to get pregnant for the past six years. For some reason, I was asked if I’d like to watch the Food Network. “Sure”, I replied. As I discovered, no amount of distractions - even if it was a cooking show, lessened the sheer discomfort of a very sharp object picking away at my teeth. On that note, I would hardly consider Sandra Lee’s half-baked (aka semi-homemade) show anything worth watching. Whipped topping?! Cool Whip is not real. How difficult do you think it is to whip up real cream? You’ve already lost any credibility as a serious cook in my eyes. If only Alton Brown was on…

Speaking of ranting… a rant by Michael about food bloggers overdoing a “cook along” type of blogging (make recipes from one cookbook, then blog about it) led me to comment on that, which then led me to realize that no matter what the profession there will always be someone who feels the need to “put others down”. I was planning on writing my commentary on that, but wrote this instead on my views of the world of food blogging and food photography.

Then Molly posted this about doing your own thing and not worrying about anyone else (yes, I've talked about this before). Finally, more inspiration from Keri...I can relate to much of what she says in the three parts of this post.

Friday was a busy day getting hubby ready for his week-long vacation of hiking somewhere in a San Diego desert with a childhood friend from Germany who now lives in San Diego. No surprise, it was one of our typical "wait until the last day and throw everything into the suitcase" type of packing. Nonetheless, I had time to discover a new word, piffle, from Michael, and Heidi's recipe for Cottage Pancakes. I actually found this one before, but came back to it so I can make it next week for the kids in the hopes that they will eat cauliflower.

On the way to the airport, I came across a new recipe for dutch babies from Bibberche. Thank you Lana for my very first #FF on Twitter! :)

The highlight of the girls' trip to the airport has always been getting to ride on Papa's suitcase. Yesterday was no exception. The other highlight of the day was when Papa pulled a large bag of Haribo gummy bears, left over from his last trip, out of his travel bag and gave it to the kids. They devoured those in no time. Sagey didn't even care if one fell on the floor. Yeah, icky, but I didn't catch that until it was too late.

After that, we drove to Whole Foods for dinner and a few groceries. The kids and I were really hungry and they wanted to eat rice and bean soft tacos from the taco bar - and a large Snickerdoodles cookie for each. We sat outside where all the birds watch your every move and even steal the food directly from your mouth (yes, that actually happened to Sagey last year).

After the kids went to bed, I found a new recipe for Sesame Pancake Sandwich Bread and an amazing food photography studio.

When you say that nothing interesting happened during the past seven days and nothing too inspiring came your way, it's most likely not true. Take a moment each day to jot down (or bookmark) that link, take a photo of an "ordinary" moment, and cook a new meal from a link that someone on one of your favorite social media sites happens to mention. Savor those moments...savor your life.