Lucky Lime Drink, Irish Mint Floats, Peppermint Candy Shake AND MORE

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from a Laser Tag Party Roxie attended Saturday evening. When I arrived to pick her up, the hostess mom asked me and a couple of other pick-up moms if we wanted to play the last game of Laser Tag. Excuse me! An opportunity to safely shoot Roxie and friends? I think so! (I love Laser Tag. And I need to take this opportunity to apologize to Hannah for stalking and shooting her every time her vest re-activated. That's how I play. I'm a stalker. Love you, Hannah!)

RANDOMNESS #1 - Last night we had a Mystery Bag Party reunion for the Cheetah Girls (the second set of Mystery Bag Party Girls) at Costa's Mediterranean Restaurant in Trussville. I think I was the only one who had never been there before. It was excellent, and everyone was in attendance except Tonya. We missed you, Tonya!

Keep in mind, I'll be having another Mystery Bag Party Contest in May celebrating my 400th post. It will be here before you know it, and six new names will be drawn for a new and exciting Mystery Bag Party!

And just so you know, we don't just eat all the time. We do other things, too. Why, just the other day the first Mystery Bag Party Girls (the Soul Sistas) and I went bungee jumping. Yeah. That's the ticket! Okay. So all we've done thus far is eat. We're going to branch out. I promise.

RANDOMNESS #2 - Guess what showed up in my mailbox yesterday? I received (for some unknown reason) a mini-magazine from Real Simple. It is called Solutions... Getting Organized. I thought I would share some of the organization tips with you this week. (I think some of them are useful, and some of them are a little funny to me.)

The following section is called "Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things."

1. Wine Bottle Cork - Poke stud earrings into a cork and toss it in your travel bag.

2. Ice-Cube Trays - Freeze left-over broth and sauces for cooking. Then store the cubes in freezer bags until you are ready to use them.

3. Uncooked Spaghetti - Mark your page in a cookbook with a single slender stick. (This isn't a bad idea, but I thought it was funny. Remember... use "uncooked" spaghetti!)

4. Colander - Invert the colander and use it as a bug tent over burgers and buns during a cookout.

5. Antacid Tablets - Toss two dissolving antacid tablets in your toilet, such as Alka-Seltzer. Wait 20 minutes, then brush. (For fun, do this right before you see one of your kids heading for the bathroom. Add green food coloring. When they ask what's going on, get everyone to evacuate the house saying "The toilet is going to blow!" See! Practical and amusing.)

I'm here all week, folks!

RANDOMNESS #3 - The general consensus from the multitude of readers of A Simple Life seems to be for me to share what REALLY happens during a weekend with the Faulkner Five. I'm considering doing so. I really am. It will be difficult. If you've known me for five minutes, you know I'm very big into FALSE appearances. I'm taking your suggestions under advisement. I'll let you know.

RANDOMNESS #4 - Since we'll be going camping in the near future, I am re-posting a couple of camping stories beginning tomorrow... just to get in the mood!

As promised, I have SEVERAL recipes to finish your menu for your St. Patrick's Day festivities. They all look pretty good... and easy!

Lucky Lime Drinks

Put one or two small scoops of lime sherbet in a clear glass. Pour Sprite or 7-Up over the sherbet. Add a dollop of whipped cream, green sugar sprinkles and a green maraschino cherry!

Irish Mint Floats

Drop two scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream into a clear glass. Pour milk over the top and add a drop or two of green food coloring. Top with whipped cream and green sugar sprinkles.

Peppermint Candy Shake

You will need:

2 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Peppermint Pattie bars or Junior Mints cut into pieces
Blender

1. Place candy pieces into the freezer for 15 minutes.

2. Combine all ingredients in the blender and blend on medium speed for 30 seconds. Stir with a spoon and blend for 30 more seconds. Repeat until desired consistency is reached.

3. For a thicker shake, place blended milkshake into freezer for a few minutes.

4. Top with whipped cream and more mint candy pieces on top.

5. OF COURSE, to serve this shake on St. Patrick's Day add the green food coloring!

Robin's St. Patrick's Day Cake

Mix a lemon cake mix according to recipe, and add in a small package of pistachio pudding. Bake in a Bundt pan. It will be green when you cut it, and it tastes delicious, too.

Have a terrific Tuesday. Come back tomorrow for another St. Patrick's Day Seasonal Tradition... the last one before the actual holiday. I'll have Wednesday Wisdom, more organization tips from my handy-dandy mini-magazine sent anonymously through the mail, "old" camping stories and so much more! Do you want to miss all of the above? Do you? I didn't think so.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda