Which Came First?!

The Lucius or the egg?!

Who cares! All I know they are both in my house right now - Lucius and her eggs!

That's right, Lucius, who, yes, I always call "he" is actually a "she." Don't get me wrong, I've been 90% sure of this since forever.. but she's a lizard and its hard to tell, but frankly, I didn't care. She's always been Lucius to me.

So, Chad came home today during lunch and sent me a text with this picture:

"Look! we have baby Lucius eggs!"

At that time she had only had 3 and he thought she was working on her 4th. By the time I got home though, she had had SEVEN!! Seven little eggs! Well little is relative... they were each about an inch by a half inch - which considering her body is only about 9 inches long... I think they were huge!!!!

As soon as I saw them and snapped a few pictures, I scooped them all out and put them in a bowl. Then I put that bowl in the only logical place I could think of - the fridge. See, I didn't want her trampling them and I knew they weren't viable (she has lived alone for five years....), but most of all I wanted to show them to people... like my husband and my friend :)

6 white ones and 1 yellow one. 

This is common for lizards, by the way, most species will have eggs a few times throughout their lives, regardless of sex or not. Funny fact though - for the mali uromastyx - both the white and yellow eggs are typical. In breeding females the yellow eggs always indicated unfertilized eggs, while white ones could be or not.

So, I am happy. Eggs = Healthy FEMALE Lizard. Healthy Lizard = Happy Tara.

A Wonderful Breakfast - for One (or Two...)

Good Morning Sunshines!

This morning Chad is off to save the world - volunteering for the local Search and Rescue. Which means I am home, spending my morning warm, sipping coffee and watching a bit of TV. Oh and did I mention hungry?

I decided to go a little overboard this morning, and make myself an almost gourmet breakfast.

It turned out wonderfully! So, I decided to share the recipe!

Fresh & Tasty Breakfast Casserole

 Serves 1-2

* 1 tsp olive oil
* 3 tbls diced bell peppers
* 4 tbls finely diced onion
* 1 clove garlic, smooshed
* 1 cup diced, leftover roasted potatoes
* 1/4 cup spicy sausage (I used a vegetarian chipolte sausage)
* 1/2 bunch chopped fresh spinach
* seasoning: I used cajun, paprika, salt and pepper
* 4 eggs
* 3 tbls milk
* 1/4 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Crack eggs in a bowl, add milk and mix very well.

Saute bell peppers and onion in olive oil, over medium heat. Cook till translucent and just starting to turn golden. Add garlic and potatoes. Cook for a while and add crumbled sausage. Stir frequently until sauage is cooked through, then add spinach and seasoning. Once wilted, remove from heat.

Coat a small baking dish with non-stick spray. I used a 5-inch round cake pan. Put the veggie/sausage mixture into the pan. Sprinkle on the cheese. Pour egg mixture over top, gently tapping the pan to get the eggs into all the cracks and crevices. Eggs should completely cover the mixture and cheese (but not go over it in excess).

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until eggs are set. Check by stabbing it with a knife - if gooie egg leaks up, put it back in the oven. Top should be golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes. Cut and ENJOY!


Its delicious and you could put anything you want into it! MMMmmmm.